


Peace Sign

by KoyukiTan



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Morals, Original Character(s), Revenge, Romance, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-01-20 01:44:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 203,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12422457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoyukiTan/pseuds/KoyukiTan
Summary: Humanity is one thing, being humane is another.Human vs ghoulHuman vs human,In the end who actually benefits from a war?What's worth living if you can't live the life you wanted? Koharu Ui abandons everything she's ever known to escape the life of riches and make her own placement in life. However, chasing after her brother may not have been as easy as she'd planned as now reality is in front of her and must face the world two evils with a sliver spoon in her mouth.Taking initiative of a two part experiment, Koharu strives to prove not just to her brother but to herself that she can make a difference and can control the outcome of the story, her story. However, no fairy tale princess had anything handed to them and Koharu expects nothing less.Part of the CCG's newest experiments has started to implant ghoul DNA into human to create the ultimate tools. One group was consisted of a mix of both male and female investigators, referred to as ‘The Qs’ and the second group was consisted only of females were just ‘The Beta’. Which one is stronger? That was the ultimate test. However, being able to control these abilities were just the basics, learning to know where one stands is another.





	1. Danger Zone

The flashing lights in the middle of darkness seem to have little effect when the city surrounding it only forces it to blend with the attractions of the Tokyo itself. The only way people know you’re coming by the sounds of a roaring engine going 130 km/h.

A manhunt…No…a ghoulhunt.

Of course, humans would have no chance of being able to outrun this but if you happen to be a ghoul, that’s another story.

Ghouls, humanities worst known threat feeds on flesh and produces powerful weapons that cannot be defeated by any normal gun or knife. However, just over one century ago, organization came together to rise against these hellish monsters, the CCG. They produced not only highly skilled and pristine investigators, but also the only weapon powerful enough to defeat the ghouls, Quinques. Because of them the ghoul population has severally decreased and humans are that much closer to taking domination over the world again. However, the CCG has recently been working on a new project, something that has never been done before but if the test subjects reign successful then ghouls will certainly be no more.

These individuals had volunteered not only their bodies to an intense surgery that could alter their ways of life, they also gave themselves to perform something anything but humane…how long would their humanity last in a body that was no longer human?

“Damn it!” The ghoul that happened to be running away from the motorcycle had already been impaled multiple times; there were cuts and shards still in his arms and legs. His clothes were stained to the point where they began to match to colour of his hair. Luckily for him, his speed was still able to maintain that of the one’s chasing him.

The engine roared from behind as its speed started to increase bit by bit.

“YAHOO~!” the driver, a young female yelled as she accelerated on the motorcycle, on her back were wings of a river, water fragments that launched and solidified to pierce the ghoul in front of her. Every time he was hit his speed decreased.

“A-Akita! Slow down!” The passenger behind her yelled in her helmet as she held onto the back seat of the cycle, making sure to stay clear of the ukaku of the enthused team mate.

“Relax, Carma I’ve got this! And didn’t I tell you to just call me Brooke!?”

Still at the speed they were going it was no surprise that they managed to catch the attention of the police that soon were trailing behind them, one car on each side flashing their own set of lights and sirens. Brooke let out her arm, a way to signal that they were hunting a ghoul and soon the police re-routed to assist them, even though they were in little position to fight a ghoul, they could still alert bystanders.

“They’re giving us back up.” Carma noted,

“We already have all the back up we need at the port.” Brooke said as she leaned foreword in her seat as if it could make them speed up, she was just praying that they wouldn’t have to make a sharp turn any time soon other wise Shirazu may not be getting his bike back, “that’s it, Torso.”

Luckily for them, they were able to lead the ghoul right to the precise location that they’d set up their trap, hopefully he’d make it all the way there.

“Do we have him?” Carma asked as she cautiously leaned over to get a better view,  
“Just a-“ but it seemed like the ghoul had other plans and darted itself down another street, “SHIT!” With the speed the bike was going they passed the turn just as fast as they saw him run down it, “SHIT SHIT **SHIT SHIT!** CARMA TELL KOHARU THERE’S BEEN A CHANGE OF COURSE!”  
“R-Right!” In an instant, Carma pulled out her phone to get a hold of the leader and the rest of the squad, hopefully someone would catch up to him in time.

\--

This was one of those rare occasions where Ryoichi Takeo was thankful for a back ally. It was pitch dark, but he was still able to see the large wound below his abdomen along with the shards in his flesh. His breathing was a bit irregular and most of his ukaku had been torn but at least now he would have a chance to rest.

“Come on…regenerate…” He muttered as he began to pull on some of the shards, grunting each time as he tugged one out, “I need something to eat…” He took a glance at the opening to a street.

_Empty._

Not that he was a fan of killing people on the spot anyways…but he was desperate.

When he looked back at his wound momentarily then looked back at the opening to the street again he spotted a couple of figures standing there. They appeared to be woman in their early twenties at least…but they weren’t human…were they?

“It isn’t safe to be wondering around here at night you know.” From the faint light from the outside he could only make out some of the first woman’s simple features. Maybe his vision was blurred from the blood loss.

“You seem to be in a pickle there.” The second woman said as stepped into the alley further, “well isn't that just peachy, let’s see if you-“ as she approached she suddenly stumbled over her own two feet…now giving him a better perspective of what he was dealing with. From the white coats to the metallic cases in their hands it was obvious. _Doves_. Of course he wanted to ask them why they smelt so odd…but that wasn’t what you should ask a lady, never mind two of them. If he fought the doves in this state he’d never come out of it alive…he had to make a run for it. However, the fallen one had lifted herself up from the ground and sat on her knees, pushing some of her blonde hair behind one of her ears. She looked cross as she closed her eyes and launched something out from her back…A Rinkaku?! Ryoichi just managed to avoid the attack, but when he looked into her face he noticed something extremely strange. When she had opened her eyes he saw that one of her eyes had become black with red veins shooting across part of her face. But what made this stranger was that her friend seemed to have the same phenomenon but instead bore a Bikaku, one that simulated an ankylosaurus and a clover.

“Keep him there, Kitami!” the one with the bikaku said as she accelerated towards him at an alarming pace, smashing her club-like kagune against the wall causing part of it to collapse. She continued to hit again and again, failing to hit him as he was able to easily dodge her attacks…she clearly needed some target practice “I’m getting a quinque out of you, Torso!”  
“Torso?” Who was Torso? Who ever he or she was he wasn’t about to stick around to ask questions. Using the last bit of his strength, Ryoichi unleashed his injured Kagune and used it to propel himself up the side of the buildings, jumping of the walls until he reached the top and eventually ran out of sight. For the two one eyes who remained, they stood defeated from a short fight with no impalements.

“Oww…I’m going to get a bruise for that fall…Well looks like you’re not getting that quinque after all, Michiko.” Kitami joked as her eye started to change back to normal and her weapon started to retreat back into her body. However, Michiko could only keep her head up at where the ghoul had escaped their grasp.  
“Maybe if you weren’t so clumsy I could have…”  
“Hey we’re both to blame here…It’s not like you hit him either.” normal ghouls could have easily kept following him. But the girl’s RC levels weren’t high enough to peruse and accelerate their bodies to an extent yet. Being only test subjects, their options were still limited, “I just don’t know how we’re going to-“ Kitami’s voice was soon toned out by the sound of a motorcycle that was coming down the alley way, Brooke and Carma waving to them as they pulled over to the side.

“Did you get it?” Carma asked as she took off her large helmet, locks of bright pink hair flowing out.

“If we got it I would be holding it by the neck right now!” Michiko retorted as her Bikaku fell back inside herself.

“Torso is a tough one.”

“If he didn’t make the turn I could have hit him a few more times and ran over him,” Brooke sighed as she took off her own helmet and adjusted her glasses on her face, “I guess that means we’ll have to rock, paper, scissors’ on who’s going to tell Koharu-“  
“Never mind that…” Another figure had stepped into the alleyway, another young investigator in a white coat had entered the premises. She too was holding a brief case…and she had blood splattered across her coat and face, “That wasn’t Torso…”  
“Haru-nee!”

“Ui-chan…”

“Huh? It wasn’t?”  
“What do you mean it wasn’t him?! My data, my leads, my research was perfect!” Michiko defended, “Did you see-“

“It was faulty information…while I was waiting at the docks I came in contact with one of that ghoul’s allies and managed to get some information out of him before disposing of him. I also got some in tell from Sasaki on my way here, he said he’d bring some help with him…But what we were chasing was just a rank B ghoul…It shouldn’t have been a challenge for any of you...”

Each of them lowered their heads like children that had all been scolded, all but Michiko who kept her stance straight and firm, “anyways, we’d better get back to-“

But as Koharu turned around, she bumped right into another group of investigators. From where she bothered to look she saw Haise Sasaki and his squad along with some of the others, including her older brother Special Class Koori Ui who appeared to have been the one leading them here. He did not look pleased and this instantly changed her strict aura act.

“Oh…Koori-bro…Just wrapping up a case!”  
“There’s no case to be wrapped up.” His brown eyes narrowed as he looked down at his sister who was nearly the same height as him, then at her squad behind her who were all standing like deer’s in the headlights, “Koharu, how many times do I have to tell you not to get wrapped up in someone else’s case! You know that Torso is far too advanced for your group yet! Even the ghoul your group chased down you couldn’t finish off…”

“I thought we-“  
“Enough! All of you get back to the CCG. This is an order!” That’s when Ui and the other investigators took charge of cleaning up the area for the mess that been made, “carelessness…this is why you shouldn’t be an investigator…”

These were the newest products of the CCG’s hidden research. Part of a two part experiment, they started implanting ghoul DNA into humans and controlling RC count to be able to give humans the ultimate weapon against their biggest foes.

One group was consisted of a mix of both male and female investigators, referred to as ‘ _The Qunix_ ’ and the second group was consisted only of females were just ‘ _The Beta Quinx_ ’. Which one would reign stronger? That was the ultimate test. However, being able to control these abilities were just the basics, learning to know where one stands is another.

In the car ride back to the main branch office, the 5 girls all sat in silence. Koharu couldn’t even look any of them in the eyes…it was not her squad that was to blame for what happened here tonight…it was her. She should have been with them…they should have worked together instead…even if the ghoul wasn’t Torso they still would have managed to erase one more threat. But thanks to her leadership skills…she only managed to make a fool of herself in front of her brother again. If she kept this up she’d never be able to do things alone…she’d be in his shadow forever.

“I _am_ an investigator…” Koharu whispered to herself. Who did he think he was telling her otherwise? If anything, he was the coward of the family. Taking a breath to collect herself again. She was the leader of her group, she had to act like one and be the foundation that holds them up. So, Koharu made a quick announcement to her teammates that night,

“Listen up everyone,” she said, “Starting tomorrow…we’re working as a unit…understand?”

“But isn’t that what we’ve been doing already?” Brooke raised a brow and for the most part, they all agreed. None of them had ever dirrectly worked ‘alone’ and for the most part they thought they were making good progress. Clearly Koharu had her work cut out for her,

“No, none of you have. You’re all too foucused on your individual abilities that you forget that you have to sync up with everyone else you’re fighting with. When it comes to battle, no one is the star of the show, we need each other if we want to win…that’s the mistake my brother made when he first became an investigator…one of them anyways.”

“Well…I guess I did act a bit recklessly. I went in without checking on Michiko…” Kitami admitted as she rubbed the top of her knee, indeed a blue bruise was starting to show.

“I already know my aim needs work,” Michiko sighed, “And…I guess some team building wouldn’t hurt either…”

“Are you kidding me? I WAS GREAT OUT THERE!” Brooke retorted as she folded her arms over her chest proudly, “Did you see the distance I can launch?”  
“B-But you forgot about me behind you half the time! I’m lucky you didn’t take part of my arms off!” the pink haired girl yelled with some tears in her eyes, this making Brooke blush in embarrassment.  
“Oh…Yeah…”

“See, we all need work,” Koharu said, looking at each of her team mates in the eye, “As your squad leader, it’s my job to make sure that all of you become successful investigators and I’m telling you right now, if none of you learn to cooperate, you can count new quinques are out of the question.” 

This was her team, her little soldiers she had to watch over and physically tell what to do otherwise they'd be walking around _decapitated._


	2. Dancing In The Dark

Ryoichi knew that he was no longer being chased as he no longer sensed anyone behind him anymore, but he kept on running, he had to get out of the area in case there happened to be more of them close by. But not even he was totally familier with the area he was in now…perhaps the blood loss was messing with his memories. Luckily for him, the bleeding had begun to stop in the cuts across his body, but the wound within his center had remained. The only way to heal something of that size a depth was to eat something. But his Kagune was in no shape to hunt and he already used the last of his strength just to get here...whatever ward this was. When his stamina finally ran out and his vision started to fade, his body fell to the pavement resounded with a thud.

‘ _This is it, this is where I die_.’ The last thing he remembered seeing was a large pair of feet aproaching him before everything went black.

 

In a close radius, Nishiki Nishio, _The Serpent_ , was on his last legs of the day too. Though he would never admit it, he nearly didn't get out of his last situation alive, but yet his injuries were already healed. By unlucky chance he managed to get caught up with a member from Aogiri in his own hunting grounds.

“Fucking blueberry.” He muttered as he took his mask off to breath; the only thing he got to see from the enemy was her noticeable blue hair, “who was that chick?” Though he didn’t have a wide range of knowledge on the Aogiri members, he could still list some of them…though he wasn’t familiar with her. But as he was about to continue to curse on about his retreat or death, he spotted another ghoul, this time one he was familiar with and outside of Aogiri.

“Yomo…?” he was carrying something over his back, was that a body?  
Nishiki started to trail behind the tall man and the scent he picked up was no human, this was a ghoul alright “what are you doing with that? It's dead right?”

Yomo didn’t stop to look back at him and instead he kept marching up the street with his gaze set upon whatever was in front of him.

“He’s alive,” he said, “but badly injured, he must have gotten himself into a situation with another ghoul.”

Still Nishiki couldn’t help but look at the body in disgust; he had nice red hair though he’d at least give the guy that.

“So…Are you taking him to :re?”

Yomo nodded, “I’m sure Touka will take him in for now.”

\--

Back at the CCG headquarters, only two investigators remained into the depth of the night. Haise Sasaki and Koharu Ui who worked in the same office area were busily working away at file and reports that their teammates had failed to get to that day. After the harsh scolding that they received from her brother and a few other of her superiors when they got back after the failed ‘operation’, Koharu told her squad to head back to their shared home and get some rest while she stayed back to work on their reports. Naturally, they all refused to allow her to do all that work but she needed them sharp and ready for training the next day…that and she needed to get her mind off of the things that were spoken to her and the only way she could do that would be to work off her stress.

‘ _I am an investigator I am an investigator I am an investigator…’_

As for Haise, his squad just left out of pure laziness.

Leaning back in his chair, Haise took off his glasses and placed them down on his desk to let out a long sigh.

“What a day,” he said as he closed the lid of his laptop, “Cochlea is never fun, poor Mutsuki...Then I had to chase down Urie and Shirazu…Saiko never even made it out of bed…”

“I get it,” Koharu took a moment from her screen to think back on what her day had consisted of, “my group is no different…we’re always late to meetings because someone is sleeping in or can’t pick an outfit…Today Michiko had to go home and change her clothes because it violated the dress code…”

“They’re like kids.” **“Exactly.”**

The two let out a quick laugh and to be honest, the two got along pretty well despite what Ui had said about Haise being a threat to them. Actually, he was one of the few people she was able to connect instantly since they both were dealing with very similar leadership issues.

“Anyways…I better get going. It’s late and I have to prepare lunches for tomorrow.”  
“You are such a mother, Haise.”

“No one else can cook, I got to do what I got to do if it’ll get them to do their best…Are you heading home too?”

“Um…” Koharu took a look at her screen, she’d only managed to finish three of the reports needed to be handed in, “no, not yet. I have to finish these first then I’ll go.”

A look of surprise spread across his face,

“You sure?”  
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll get some more coffee and I’ll be good to go.” And just like that, she took back to the keyboard and began to fill out the next report; all he could do is trust her word.

“Well okay, if you’re sure.”

Soon she was alone in the office room, the only sound being her typing and the ticking of the clock on the wall. It was a steady rythem but even as she managed to fill out the last pieces of the final report, she could feel something come over her slowly but suddenly that lead her to leaning her head in her arms atop the desk.

\--

The next morning, Ui and his partner Hairu were some of the first to arrive to the office.

“You know, we could have gotten here a bit earlier if you hadn’t insisted we stopped to get a coffee.” Ui sighed as he held onto two coffee cups as Hairu eagerly pushed the elevator button.  
“I know but sometimes it’s nice to get a real coffee instead of the stuff we get here…its usually sitting in the break room for who knows how long. Old coffee is gross.”

“Right…” To be honest he never noticed, he drank coffee for the caffeine boost not so much the flavor anymore. Ever since becoming an investigator he found that he didn’t have the time to leave and get a drink from a café and every promotion he got it only became that much more of a challenge. But even his rich boy snobbishness did crave something like this once in a while and he had Hairu to thank for dragging him out in the morning to get it.

“Trust me Koori.” When they finally made it to their floor, they passed by the office where the Qs and Beta worked and in the corner of her eye, Hairu spotted someone there, “Oh!”

There asleep at her desk, Koharu had her laptop still open with dancing lights across the screen…she must have stayed there all night working. When Ui stopped to see what Hairu found so interesting, his mouth nearly dropped to the floor.

“Koharu!” without hesitation, Ui shoved the coffees into Hairu’s hands, and marched into the office to forcefully shake his sister’s shoulder to wake her, “Koharu!”

She stirred in her sleep for a moment, groaning out something he couldn’t make out, “Mhmmnotwiththestrawberry…”

“ **Get. Up**.”  
When she finally decided to lift herself off the desk and wipe the little bit of drool hanging from her lip, she groggily looked up at her brother and almost seemed happy,  
“Oh…Good morning, Koori-bro…”  
“Don’t ‘ _Koori-bro_ ’ me!” a bit of annoyance in his voice, “Were you here all night?” It took her a couple of seconds to process her surroundings and think back to the night before. She chortled,

“Yep. I guess I did,” She then logged back into her laptop, “Oh and I finished all the reports by myself, well that’s-“ but she stopped mid sentence when Ui grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her so that her entire body was facing him,  
“You’re so stupid! Why would you stay here all night like that what kind of example are you setting for your squad? How good of an investigator will you be if you get sick!?” she could feel his grip tighten around her shoulder blade, even she had to admit it hurt, “You are not invincible, Koharu, you-“  
“Hey Hey, Koori! She was just doing what she thought was best.” Hairu couldn’t help but chime in; the last thing she felt like dealing with was a grumpy Ui the rest of the day…although it might already be too late for that. Shoving her partner off to the side, the cherry bloom haired girl offered her a smile, much to Ui’s distaste as he let out a grunt,  
“Hairu…”  
But she paid him no mind and instead handed her own coffee towards the girl, more like shoved it in her hands anyways,  
“Here, you take mine to get a caffeine boost! You wouldn’t want his bitter coffee.”

“Hairu don’t reward her!”

Still, she insisted that Koharu should take it, after all Hairu considered her to be one of her very few friends close to her age. What Hairu liked best about her was how she was different and softer then her brother and yet she was just like him, strange.

“Thanks, Ihei-senpai.” Koharu gratefully took the cup that was forced into her hands, it’s warmth felt nice to her touch and even just it’s aroma made her senses liven up and send a sensation throughout her body. Although in all honestly she didn’t mind drinking bitter coffee either as she grew up with it that way. Carefully she brought the beverage to her lips and took a sip...it was sweet.

“You can call me just Hairu.”

“Alright, ‘ _just Hairu_ '.” The two let out a laugh and by this point Ui’s patience had run out.

“Let’s go Hairu!” Her partner finally stated as her took her hand to leave the room, watching as the two waved goodbye.

Once the two older investigators were a-ways from the office Hairu couldn’t help but ask Ui of his sort attitude towards his sister as she found it odd, “Simple. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

“But she’s still new to this Koori,” Hairu said as she walked behind him as usual, “as her senpai and her older brother you should show her the right-“  
“Enough Hairu!” Ui snapped as he turned back to glare at her, “I warned her about this place, I warned her she’d shatter…I told her she would be siding with the enemy for getting that damned surgery…but she went behind my back and did it anyways so why should I help her…?” Normally when her rose his voice at Hairu it was to scold her something she’d done foolishly by her own actions and she took it like a champ, letting it go in one ear and out the other. But once he started to talk about abandoning his kin, his own flesh and blood, it made her want to kick him between the legs. Especially since she knew that Ui did care about Koharu other wise why would he get angry for her staying late?

But what Hairu wouldn’t give to have a family.

“She’s still your little sister…”  
“No sister of mine is relevant to a ghoul.”  
As soon as he said that, she grabbed his coffee, popped off the lid and dumped the hot liquid over his head. Ui froze in place with his mouth hanging open, but no words came out.

Hairu looked him dead in the eyes with a frown pulling on her lips,  
"How can you say that Koori?"  
"Hairu..."  
"If anything you're the idiot!" with anger consuming her she had no choice but to run down the hallway and into the woman’s washroom to hide. Ui reached for her as she ran away from him, his legs planted to the floor no matter how much he wanted to go after her.  
"W-wait, Hairu!"

Because if he only knew what she was, would he abandon her? Would he hate her for being born as part monster?

\--

“Too slow, Brooke!” By noon, the Beta girls were out at the CCG’s training grounds at the academy to work on the Kagune and Quinque agility skills. It was privet to not disturb the public and it was convenient to get a hold of CCG defense gear. However, Koharu was clearly able to outwit all of her squad members in not only speed but in stamina, “You have an Ukaku, you should be able to keep up with me!”

“I could if you would keep still…!” Brooke heaved as she tried to run after her leader who projected herself off the ground with ease with her manticore-like Koukaku. But soon, Brooke could no longer keep up and fell to the ground next to her three other friends, “I think I might puke…”

“Whatever you do, do it away from me…” Michiko said as she inched away from her teammate and pointed her towards a bush.  
“This is ridiculous…” their squad leader said as she landed next to them, her arms folded across her chest, “If you can’t even hit me how do you expect to hit a high ranking ghoul and I’ve got news for you, ghouls won’t stand still and let you impale them!”  
“But why…?” asked Michiko who was leaning back to back with Carma, “Wouldn’t they be happier dead anyways?”  
“Michiko…” How was she going to respond to that? Of course a world without ghouls would be more peaceful and safer, that’s why she joined the CCG…why they all did, “No matter what you are, you fight to stay alive and to live on. Even if your existence is unfair you still fight because you only get one chance…I imagine ghouls see it that way too.” None of them responded, maybe they needed to process the thought of monsters being understanding or even humane. She honestly didn’t expect them to understand because she didn’t either. This was just something she’d heard from Haise one time.

They wanted all them dead just as much as she did.

_Right?_

__

__

But then all of a sudden something sliced through the skin on Koharu’s arm…a blade?  
“Ha! Got’cha when you were off guard!” Brooke yelled as she threw up from behind a nearby bush, her Ukaku flaring with blazing light and a smile somehow on her face. Then suddenly, Koharu found herself surrounded by the other three…what? When did they?  
“I’m sorry Ui-chan but even we know when to take the opportunity!” Kitami beamed as she too managed to slice into Koharu’s skin. Then one by one she was hit by each of their Kagunes! Yes, it stung every time her pale skin was carved into but she was pleased to see that they were all working together, even if they probably weren’t listening to her short speech a moment ago.

“HYAH!” Michiko looked rather pleased with herself when she managed to actually hit Koharu hard enough to send her to the ground.

“S-Sorry Haru-nee!” Carma’s turtle like Bikaku scratched the surface of one of Koharu’s legs.

Once each of them had made a hit on her, she found herself lying on the ground bleeding and in pain…but she was smiling too. Proud even.

“Hmm…I guess you guys aren’t as weak as you all look.”  
“Hey, I’m intimidating as Fuck…!” Brooke said as she came back to rejoin the group, wiping her bottom lip, this allowing them all to share a laugh even for a moment.  
Yep, they were definitely like a bunch of kids, they surprised you.

“Alright you guys, get back to work! I’m just going to clean up then I’ll be back.”  
She hoped she could trust them to behave on their own for a few minutes, even then she was taking a risk…so for now she told them to work on hand-to-hand combat without their kagunes. 

Not too far from the grounds, Koharu found herself at a hose to clean up the blood around her wounds, but she could see that the wounds themselves were already gone as if they were never there…she wasn’t all human anymore that was for sure.

Just as she was about to head back to her group, she noticed someone come out of the academy building,

“Hello, Hirako!” She greeted and decided to make her way over to him to which even he looked a little surprised to see her there.

“Ah, Good morning,” he said, as she trotted up to his side.

Hirako Take and Koharu Ui had a fairly odd relationship that happened almost by a fluke, they never really worked together that often but the two had some…interesting moments to say the least.

In the past years, Hirako and her older brother would sometimes go out drinking together after work and her brother would sometimes drink a little too much…So Hirako would walk him back to her place where the two would have to care for him through the night. Whenever Ui would finally decide to pass out, Hirako would tell her stories about the zero squad kids or about his dog to make things a bit less awkward between them…or maybe because he was never able to get two cents in with her brother’s bitching.

“What were you doing at the academy today?” She asked him as she played with a piece of her dark hair, Hirako shrugged,

“Filling in. I didn’t have to do any teaching as the students were doing exams today.”  
Exams. She remembered those, they were a beating indeed. In the academy their exams were both a mixture of written and physical, everything depended on your strength and skill levels just as much as your common knowledge. At the time, she’d just barely passed a couple of those first exams. Hirako was most likely just a supervisor today. The two walked a little further along the path before she finally had to part ways and get back to her squad…honestly she wouldn’t be overly surprised if they were taking a nap in the grass by now.

“Hey, I’d like to see the kids again soon, maybe they can stop by the Villa sometime?”

“Yeah…They’d like that.” He gave a quick nod and made his way off the premises of the academy grounds, most likely back to head quarters. Luckily she wasn’t too far from the training grounds but by the time she arrived back, she saw that her suspicions were correct. There lying in a body pile were her four friends fast asleep in the grass in the shade without a care in the world.  
“Honestly…” She shook her head, as much as she wanted to wake them and scold them for getting off task she just couldn’t bring herself to do it; especially since they did a god job today as it was. Still, she smiled as she sat down in the middle of the group, maybe a nap would do her some good after her late night. Closing her eyes, Koharu imagined a blank slate, a world that had never been touched by humans or ghouls...but really what good was a world so dull?


	3. Broken Wings

‘ _So this is pure death?_

__

__

It’s surprisingly boring.

 _Dank and dark true hell._ ’

He wanted to scream but every time he tried nothing came out, it was if that he’d been permanently muted but yet he could hear other voices inside his head. But he didn’t know any of them, they were whispering by his ear…wait these weren’t in his head…right? Perhaps it was the devil whispering sweet nothings to him for his crimes; the one’s he never wanted to commit…but life had a price and his was flesh.

‘ _I’m so hungry…_ ’

But why were these whispers getting louder? He was starting to understand what was being said, making out sentences… it was if they weren’t from this blackness at all.

Ryoichi woke up screaming as a cold cloth touched his head, his black eyes shooting around the room to see people all around him by the bedside. But he was too blind to see who they were; all he saw was meat.

_Meat meat meat meat meat meat meat MEAT MEAT **MEAT MEAT MEAT!**_

Ryoichi then lunged himself foreword and tried to attack the first person he saw, but luckily they were able to block themselves with their own Kagune.

“What the hell?! He’s insane!” Kanae Von Rosewald had come by the café to get some coffee beans that Touka had usually kept in special stock for her master, of course out of pure curiosity had come to see who the body belonged to that Yomo had dragged in.

“MEAT MEAT!” his kagune was still unusable but his teeth were already snapping at the other ghoul, trying to get a piece of anything he could reach. Luckily Nishiki and Yomo managed to get him off of her as Touka unwrapped a plastic bag that contained the only cure to the madness then stuffed it down his throat.

“There! Eat your meat!” She said and she continued to force feed it to him until he substantially changed in demeanor and was released of restraint. Ryoichi ate it sloppily, but he didn’t waist any of it and even proceeded to lick his fingers clean. Kanae and Nishiko both scowled,

“Hungry bastard…why would you wait so long to eat…?” Nishiki asked the air, but seemed to catch Touka’s attention,

“I don’t think that’s the first question we should be asking him…” They all watched as the young man started to come to his senses again, for a moment he looked surprised at the fact that he was actually alive as he started to glance down at his flesh that slowly started to heal. The cuts started to dissolve and the wound at his core started to sew itself together again…but something about him was beyond repair.

_Wait what?_

He then looked back at his Ukaku, which had not healed like the rest of him…instead stood only a stub and merely 1/3 of the other wing…

“…” he started to suck back in the remains of his kagune and his eyes started to retreat back to their normal purple hue, “Thank you…for saving me…” His glance averted over at Yomo, he remembered the large shoes that approached him when everything went back.

“So what’s your name?” Touka asked as she picked up a cup off coffee that was sitting on the bedside table. He carefully took it, his hands shaking a little as he took a sip. It’s really good. Once he finished the cup, he placed it back in its saucer and started to rise from the bed,

“Ryoichi Takeo.” There’s no way he could stay here any longer then he needed to, the burden he would put on their shoulders if they were to let him stay would only put their kind souls in danger as well.

“Hey, where are you-?”

“I can’t stay…if I do, they might kill you too.” For a moment no one in the room moved, who was going to kill them? Was he with someone and was on the run? Was it Doves? Whatever it was, Kanae wasn’t about to let his disrespectful ass out the door and forcefully grabbed his shoulder and spun him around,

“Blöd!” She yelled, “You’ll get no where with that broken Kagune of yours!”

“Don’t be an idiot and just stay a while…” Touka said as she guided him back towards the bed much to his resistance.

“But I can’t! I wasn’t wearing a mask, they know who I am! If they see me with all of you…”

“Who are you talking about?” Now with all eyes on him, Ryoichi found himself against a corner with no where to run…there’s no way he could mention Aogiri…but maybe if he spoke of the doves he’d be set free and keep them out of harms way…

“You mind telling us what’s going on, Takeo?” Nishiki asked again, this time expecting an answer, “Who’s after you and what’s with your starvation habit?”

“Oh, I don’t like to hunt, I usually go this long without eating unless I have to…But It’s a long story on how I got…here,” he sighed, “I was…being cased down by some doves, some very odd ones though, they smelt like a human…”

“Did they produce Kagunes?” Nishiki asked

“Yeah they did! How did you know that?!”

“I ran into them before…But I’m surprised someone who can’t even hunt went up against them…” He pushed up his glasses on his face and glanced over at Touka, he knew whom she was thinking about, “I’m going to take my leave…but you,” He pointed at Ryoichi, “For the love of god don’t starve yourself like that! You’ll end up killing a friend one day you know!”

“I’d better go too…” Kanae sighed as she picked up the coffee beans that she’d dropped when she was ‘attacked’, “I should make Master Shuu a coffee…”

Everyone slowly exited the little guest room, everyone but Touka who stood above Ryoichi with a saddened smile,

“Do you have any family I can reach?”  
“No.”  
“Do you have anywhere to go? Were you planning on going somewhere after leaving?”  
“No…”  
She looked thoughtful for a moment, she literally had a hopeless case sitting in the room with her, he’s weak, he has no goal, but he seems okay as long as he eats...he reminded her of someone she knew.

“Well…I guess you could always live here with me since I’d feel bad for throwing you out…on one condition?”  
“What would that be?”  
“You’ll pay your rent by working in the café.”  
“Café?” What did she mean by café? Was there a café nearby that she owned, “Where?”  
“Downstairs. You’ll start in a few days, I’ll show you how to make a good cup of coffee and how to deal with a mixed environment and if we notice any doves come into the shop, you’ll just have switch positions with me.” At this point, he didn’t really have a choice as it was either this or attempting to flee Japan itself, which seemed unlikely if not impossible for him, “What will it be?”

“Yeah…I’d do my best!”

As long as Touka knew what she was getting into by having him sign up for this, there shouldn’t be any trouble…right?

\--

With time and patience, over the weeks Ryoichi was able serve customers thanks to the teaching skills of Touka. This was his first part time job he’d ever had and even though he didn’t have any other work experience to compare, he liked working at :re. Sure sometimes Touka would be a bit demanding of him and he’d get the rude customer now and again, but to him this was the rich life, he didn’t even have to go hunting anymore! But best of all…it was peaceful and he soon found himself be-friending Kanae. Whenever she’d stop by for a coffee to take a break from the mansion or come to pick up her usual beans, the two would often make a quick but nice conversation. It was funny though, she always seemed to be hiding something as she would avert eye contact with him from time-to-time…but in a way he wasn’t any different.

\--

“Just a few more.” Koharu kept close watch over Kitami as she proceeded to lift a heavy weight. With a the schedule she’d put together with her squad for the past little while now, it has already began to help them sufficiently in their capabilities and their stamina.

Every morning at 4 am, they’d all get up and go for a jog in the morning to awaken themselves and allow them to all spend time together bonding (this often didn’t include Brooke)

Then every second day would have Kagune practice as well as weight lifting. She always made sure to give them two days off during the week as training didn’t just include physical labor, it included metal rest and as investigators it was extremely important to make sure their metal stability was in order.

 _This is what her brother told her when she was in the academy_.

Although today it was just Kitami and Brooke she was over looking.

“298…299...!” Kitami’s face was absolutely drenched in sweat along with most of her clothes, but without a doubt she’d improved significantly from when she first started; all of them had. “300!”

“Good!” assisting her team mate with putting the weights back, Brooke tossed her a towel to wipe the sweat away, but just as Koharu was about to start the next session she could feel a rumble coming from the floor like running foot steps coming towards them. But just as they were about to take their usual battle stance, Hairu and the zero squad kids had leaped through the door and into the CCG’s workout room without even a knock! This certainly caught the group off guard as they stumbled back on their heals at the sight.

“Ko-har-u!” Shio, the youngest of the group - at age 14 - rushed up to Koharu’s side, followed by his friends, “Guess what!?”

“Guess what, what?” She asked as placed a hand on his head, looking towards Rikai and Yusa who didn’t seem as enthused as their friend but they seemed please non the less. Finally she looked towards Hairu,

‘ _What’s going on...? Did my cowardice brother finally confess to you?_ ’

As much as she wanted to say that, she had to bite her tongue from doing so as it might make for confusion if that wasn’t the case.

“Did something happen?” Kitami finally asked as she wrapped the small towel over her shoulders, Yusa blushed and averted his gaze.

“Well not yet,” Hairu conformed as she seemed to be having trouble containing herself, she then waved over the three girls so she could whisper something, “You didn’t hear it from me…But it looks like you’ll be joining us on the next big mission.”  
“What..?”  
“The upcoming Rose operation.” The rose operation was still a few months away, but plans had already started to be considered and because Hairu was part of one of the leading groups, she got all the insight, “Koori said he’d include your group and the Qs to test you all on your first big mission.”  
Well that certainly was big news for them! All this time they’d been working on small operations that only rid of small ranked ghouls (minus the few times Koharu tried to sneak in a large operation before) So where was thing coming from all of a sudden?

“He said he’d include us…?” Koharu’s face was anything but happy, in fact she was skeptical, “Why would he decide this without my permission?” She was happy about his choice, but she was sad that she didn’t hear it form him herself.

“No! He’s still going to ask you, I just wanted to see your reaction before he had the chance I’m sorry…Just act surprised when he tells you, I’m sure he’ll tell you why then.”  
Would he really though?

“Hey you know what? Let’s get ice cream to celebrate!” Shio announced to lighten the mood a little, “What do you say Brooke?”

“I’m already there!”

“Kitami?” Shio quietly nudged Yusa who had to look at his feet to hide his face.

“You know it!”

Then they both looked towards their squad leader as if to ask permission. Of course to her it didn’t make sense to celebrate now as it wasn’t a green light yet but they had been working hard the last while and did deserve a treat. But before Shio could ask Koharu, she already declined,

“Thanks but I think I’ll just finish up some things here first, I need to ask Aki- Mado something.”

“You sure…?” Hairu asked as she rose a brow, “I’ll wait for you then.”  
“It’s fine-“  
“No it’s no big deal! Besides…I think I should talk to you about something…alone.” That being her que to let Shio and the others go out without them.

“Alright guys this is my treat to congratulate you,” he said to Brooke and Kitami as the five of them left the weight room, “Oh and Rikai, fetch Hirako’s wallet.”  
“You don’t know what ‘ _my treat_ ’ means do you?”

As the two woman started to make their way down the hallway of the CCG towards one of the elevators, neither of them said anything right away.

‘ _I better think of something to say to Akira by the time I get to her office…_ ’ What did Hairu want to talk about…? They were alone now so what was stopping her? On their way up the elevator stopped at another floor to let someone else in, but when the doors opened Koharu felt a heavy weight upon her chest instantly? Arima Kushio causally made his way in, giving a nod to them as he pushed the button to his decided floor. Around him, she always felt stiff like her joints had rusted and could no longer move, her hair would stand on end, sweat appeared on her neck and she felt like she was suffocating. He stood right in between the two of them and Koharu made no effort to make eye contact with him or anything else.  
The God of death, that name fitted him to a tea and yet everyone seemed to look up to him, admire him like he was the CCG’s idolman or something. But Koharu never caught on to that fantasia. Sure he was skilled, but he wasn’t approachable in anyway, shape or form. He was the elephant in the room, he was hard to ignore no matter how much she tried she couldn’t admire him.

Though she could just imagine how Hairu was reacting right now, she like the rest of her co-workers loved him; even her brother talked highly of him.

Why though?

As they rode up further, Arima was the first to leave and of course he left without a word. Strange man.

Now that she could breath again, she looked over at Hairu who was smiling and that smile only ever came about when she was by Arima…Poor Ui.

When they made it to the floor Akira worked on, Koharu pushed another button to send them to another floor,

“Umm…Koharu?” Hairu looked confused, “Akira worked-“  
“I know…” she sighed, fixing a piece of her dark hair, “I didn’t have to talk to Mado…I just didn’t want to get Ice cream?”  
“HuH?”  
“I don’t like sweets…” It wasn’t a secret but it wasn’t something she was proud of either. All her life she was served the best of the best cakes and deserts from the fanciest bakeries from all over japan, each more elegant then the last. But over time she grew tired for sweets and eventually just couldn’t stand to eat them anymore.

The cherry blossom’s eye brows furrowed, then her nose scrunched, and finally she broke out into a hysterical laughter, “w-what’s so funny?”  
Hairu couldn’t even answer her right away, her laughter had become so hard that nothing was even coming out and she looked more like a seal as she slapped her leg trying to get a word out but failing.

“You…You…” When they made their way off to the main floor, she finally was able to speak, “You’re so much like Koori it hurts!”

“Really…? I was always told the opposite.”

“You’re nicer then him for sure, but you’re still an Ui! I wouldn’t be able to miss it if I was blind.”

“I’m glad you find our likeliness so amusing…” Koharu rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but giggle a little too. Koori was never a fan of sweets that much either…He’d always turn down whatever was given to him…but when she was little and wanted to share her cake with him he’d always oblige. Even now he goes out almost weekly to get melon buns with Hairu and that is some of the sweetest bread around.

Hmm..

“So…did you have something you needed to speak with me about…?” Koharu asked as they made their way outside, the night air crisp and cold against their faces.  
“Me…?” Hairu looked as if she’d just remembered something she shouldn’t have forgotten, then the top of her cheeks started to flush, “oh um…is Koori okay?”  
“What do you mean?”

“It’s just…He’s been looking at me lately.”

“Oh. Is he making you uncomfortable? Did you want me to tell him to stop? Kick him? Band him?”  
“Nononono! It’s not like that!” Hairu started to shake her head as her cheeks tint only grew a little bit more, “I like it...But he used to frown towards me, but lately he’s been smiling. I just wanted to know if he was getting a cold or fever or something.”  
‘ _Recently? Hairu if you only knew how long he was really smiling when he even just thought about you_?’ Of course Koharu couldn’t say that out loud, if she did her brother actually might try to hunt her down.

For now, the two grabbed their white trench coats and made their way out the doors to go their separate ways.

 

The home that the Beta girls lived in was almost exactly the same as the one given to the Qs, except for a few different touches each placed by the individual girls themselves.

Kitami made sure that all the curtains had bows to tie them up,

Carma had planted a garden out front to remind her of her old home,

Brooke preferred beanbag chairs in the living room instead of chairs,

Michiko and Koharu both had expensive tastes in nick-knacks and paintings,

In some ways it looked a little tacky like nothing belonged with anything else, but to them it made perfect sense and it was what made it a home.

To her surprise, Koharu was the first one back that night, she assumed that Kitami and Brooke were still out with the zero squad kids. Perhaps Michiko and Carma were out also doing their own thing. Oh well sometimes it was nice having the house to herself for a little while.

After getting changed into her pajamas, she decided to slump down into one of the beanbag chairs and play one of those RP games Brooke was so fond of. Honestly she couldn’t figure out why they were such a hit, what was the point in befriending a computer? Then again it would be like befriending a ghoul right?

“We’re back!” Brooke’s voice called from the front door, she and Kitami slipped off their shoes and joined her in the living space, “We brought you back ice cream but it melted…in my mouth.” The brunette said sheepishly as she handed her friend a empty waffle cone with some remnants of what once was cookies ‘n cream.

“So, any news on the operation?” Kitami asked as she took one of her ribbons out of her hair.

“No not yet-“ Then with in seconds, Koharu’s cell phone started to ring, “Well speak of the devil.” Yep, Koori was calling and this was one call she didn’t want to miss. Politely, she took the phone to speak in the kitchen as 2 of her squad members sat anxiously in the living room. She had to remember to act like she didn’t know what was going on as to not let him know that Hairu had already told him about this.

Just be chill.

Taking a breath, she answered the phone,

“Hey, Koori-bro! What’s up?”

“Speak a little more formal Koharu,” Of course the first thing he does is correct her, “Can you come by the office a little earlier tomorrow?”  
“Yeah…What for?”  
“I need to discuss something with you.”  
“Oh! What might that be?” even she could sense that she was sounding fake, she was never a good actress, but at least Ui bought it for now.

“It’s just some…work related business. But I’d like you to come alone, you won’t need your squad as I’d like to discuss this with you first. As leader you should be able to put in your opinion for their best interest.”

There it is! He totally wants to talk about the rose operation!

“Yes I can be there no problem. I’ll get up at 3 am to make sure!”

“Please don’t.” she could hear him sigh on the other end, “Just…be here say…20 minutes before you usually arrive.”

“Right!” She could hear him sigh again and then hung up the phone. When she put hers away, she couldn’t help but let a smile come across her face.  
Yes, she’d finally get a chance to prove herself, show him that she’s not some porcelain doll who depends on other people’s efforts for her own. No, she’d be doing this all on her own. Well, with her squad of course.

\--

Meanwhile on the roof of an abandoned building at the edge of the 10th ward, a young woman with beautiful blue hair wearing a panther mask sat on the edge of a beam, seemingly staring out into the beyond.

“Ah~ Staring at the city I see. That must mean you lost to someone.” A voice called from behind her, another woman but short in stature and wearing a pink dress and covered in bandages took a seat next to her, “That’s rare for you, Hideyori.”  
“I didn’t loose to anyone,” She scoffed as she removed her mask, her eyes still black and her brown furrowed, “I just want to think for a while.”

“Right~ How’s your sister then?”  
“I can’t speak to the dead, Eto.”  
“Then how do you explain your dreams?”

“They’re fragments of my imaginations. Nothing more then pictures in my head.”

Eto laughed,

“Whatever you say, they still seemed pretty real, right? You said you could nearly feel her breath as she tried to speak with you…Do you think it was a warning?”

“I don’t know…” The one addressed as Hideyori clenched onto the side of her chest where he heart was, hands stained with blood, “But whatever it was it was nothing important. As long as I can avenge her is all that matters…” A sweet little sister with blue hair, just like hers, had lost a battle in a fight with doves long ago and since then, it’s been Hideyori’s quest to kill as many lives as she can to make up for the one she lost.

Gripping a pendant in the same blood covered hand, she promised that she’d make things right, she’d fix the hole in her heart. All she needed was some bricks to her cement.


	4. You Got It

Ui was almost certain that there was no one in the CCG by the time he arrived at work that following morning. Some of the lights were still off in parts of the building and he couldn’t spot anyone in any of the offices.

It was just him, a couple of woman who worked at the front desk, and the 24 hour emergency services.

Oh well, having some quiet time before having the important discussion would be good…he’d have some time to clear his thoughts and think of a way of delivering this kind of news to her. Honestly, he was more afraid of telling her then her reaction.

On his floor there was a small open balcony in the break area and his favorite spot to have a smoke. With his small case of ‘hope’ cigarettes in hand, he stepped out through the glass doors to see the overview of the city. The sun hadn’t even risen yet so the dark life of Tokyo was still in progress for a short time longer. The hope himself stood by the edge of the railing ready to pull one of the cigarettes out; that was before he heard the door open again to see his sister standing there smiling.

Did she even know that she had a bed hair still standing on end?

“Good morning Koori-bro!” She greeted as she came outside to stand beside him, arms stretching as if she was getting ready to do yoga or something, “Thought you might be here.”

“You thought…?”

“Well, you and your bad smoking habit.” She looked towards the box that was still in his hand; once he was able to connect with her eyes he lifted the box and offered one to her,

“You want one?”

“Me? Smoke at this hour…? Yeah.” She took one out carefully as her brother handed her his lighter. Popping in between her lips, she lit the end carefully behind her hands. She sucked it in carefully then let out some of the smoke, her lips forming a whistle position as a grey cloud floated away into the early morning air.

Now Koharu wasn’t a regular smoker, nothing like her brother, but she would sometimes do it on occasion when she was stressed or if someone offered to go out for a smoke like this. She knew it was a filthy habit; but sometimes she just needed a nicotine boost to get her through the harder times, but she’d always blame Ui for getting her into it.

“You still smoke like a beginner you know.” Her brother scoffed as he repeated the process, only keeping his cigarette in his mouth for a longer period of time before exhaling.

“Whatever…I guess I don’t practice as much as you…”

“I suppose not, but I haven’t been able to much lately either you know…Hairu hates it when I smoke.”

Koharu laughed,

“So does that mean you’re going to quit for her?”

“Very funny.” He rolled his eyes, “I’m not quitting, I’m just holding back so the smell doesn’t bother her as much…we’re not dating so why should I just drop everything for a co-worker? OW!” his sister smacked the back of his head just enough to startle him enough to nearly drop his cigarette over the side. What the hell?!

“You’re such an idiot…”

“What?!”

She looked over at him with her eyes narrowed…was she angry or what?

“Are you just going to keep holding it back?”

“Holding what back?” he asked as he rubbed the back of his head. It stung a little.

“Your feelings for her!”

“H-Huh?! Koharu that’s non of your business!”

“It might not be, but I’m getting tired of waiting for the day for when you actually say something to her! It’s getting obvious…”

“Oh really?” Honestly this girl. What was so obvious about his minor attraction to the only woman who’s he’s ever had a close relationship with that wasn’t blood related and didn’t care about his family name and actually put up with his bad moods-

Okay he did like Hairu. He liked her a lot. In fact he was almost certain that she’s the only person in the entire world he loved in such a way…It was like nothing he’d ever known. But that being said he had no idea how to make those feelings come across, instead he ignored them like the coward he was and ended up saying things he never meant to say, things he never meant to do, his regrets on the way he treated her when they first met…god they haunted him; all those mistakes. That’s why in the past while he’d been trying to hint little praises her way, compliments, whatever would make her smile because her smile was so pure, he was sure that he was in the presence of a goddess.

He couldn’t tell Koharu any of this otherwise she’d never leave him alone, or worse she’d tell Hairu! Funny enough the only way she even knew about his little crush was because apparently he told her when he came back drunk one night…ironically he was drinking away to his own depression on the matter…

The man turned his head from his sister and inhaled from his cigarette.

“Come on Koori…She’s a pretty girl, funny, and nice too! And girls like her are off the dating market easily…” she let out a sigh and leaned against the back of the railing, her head turned up to the sky, now with an orange hue, “I think she’d be a good match for you, she’s the sunshine to your raincloud…”

“That makes no sense…”

“Sure it does! The sun chases the rain away, she’d chase away your gloom, make you happy! You following me?!”

“Yeah yeah I get it..!” Ui felt like sticking a second cigarette in his mouth, she was so annoying when she was right; boy he hated it when she was, “I just…Koharu, I left home to escape a relationship, a marriage! What sense is it for me to jump into one now?”

Ui flinched when he saw his sister shift her position, hoping she wouldn’t smack him on the back of the head again. But instead she took out her cigarette that had already started to burn out and smushed it in an ashtray close to her.

“I ran away too you know… “ She started as she placed her head in her hands over the railing to glance out at the sunrise, “…I ran after you because I figured wherever you went…I’d be safe.”

That was the farthest thing from the truth, Ui knew that all too well.

“Koharu…”

“But now that I’m a woman, an adult, I’ve started to realize something. I know that my happiness doesn’t come from money but my own hard work…I could have lived with a rich man’s son that I was betrothed to…we’d could’ve had a big fancy wedding…maybe have a kid or 3…We’d all live in the biggest house Japan’s ever seen with walls and guards…We’d be safe from everything, ghouls and all…but no problem is solved behind walls, ghouls would still roam and eat people all the same.” She then glanced over at her brother, her chocolate orbs glistening in the sunlight and for a moment he was sure he was looking at a fragile doll, like the one he used to know when he was a child, “I couldn’t live that way, Koori…I just couldn’t…What justice would that be? A precious little girl playing house while the rest of the world plays war?”

“…” The hope swallowed his saliva and it stung his throat like bees. She then turned her gaze away, her hair starting to shift in the breeze,

“But I guess even in war…there are its positives…if I didn’t come here what would have happened to Kitami, Brooke, Michiko and Carma? Would one of them be the squad leader? Would any of them be dead by now?”  
He often wondered the same thing. Where would Hairu be if he didn’t join the CCG? She would be partnered with someone else, another man? Would that man have feelings for her too and would he act on those feelings? What a nasty thought to think Hairu with a man other then him.

“Hey Koori-bro?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you do me a favour?”

“Sure…What is it?”

“Well if I die…Can you take in my squad?” 

Now hold on!

IF SHE DIES.

Obviously the topic of death was a very real thing here, but to think she’s almost assuming she’s going to die makes his stomach spin and he suddenly doesn’t crave his cigarette anymore…yet he holds onto it.

“You won’t die Koharu…”

“Who’s to say that?” This time he’s the one shooting glares at her.

If she dies what if she dies what will he do if she dies? He’d have no family left, no family that he cared about anyways.

“You…You just won’t.” because you’re strong…stronger then me.

“Okay I won’t,” She then scooted herself closer to him, a smile starting to appear on her face, “But please…if anything ever did happen to me, I want my squad to be under your command…you’re the only one I could trust that would care for them as I would.”

“That’s an ‘if’…”

“Right…No dying. But that goes for you too you know!” Even if he wouldn’t smile, she’d smile for him, Ui knew that. But as soon as he felt his little sister hug him, he was taken back in time, even just for a moment.

“Oh by the way,” She pulled away from him as to collect her thoughts, “What did you really call me here for this morning…? Surly not this.”

Ah, right.

But after that conversation he didn’t feel right to bring it up now. He just told her she wouldn’t die, he couldn’t ask her to assist him on the next mission yet…

“Never mind that…We’ll talk another day.” 

“Oh…” She seemed a little disappointed but if only she could read minds, then perhaps she’d understand. Sighing he then dropped his hope cigarette on the ground and stopped on it with his foot and put on a smile on his face, it wasn’t genuine but he hoped it would at least distract her for now.

Maybe they could go for a coffee before all the hellions arrived at the office.

“Oh and one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You might like this favor a bit better…could you ask Hairu out on a date soon?”

“Koharu…”

“Trust me…I think she’d say yes. Even if you’re a boring guy with a bowl cut.”

Really, his sister was a pain in the ass. But at least she kept his best interest in mind…there’s no way she was a monster. They were both right about him…he was an idiot.

However, on their way back inside the office, another one of their coworkers was passing by carrying some files with him. He took a glance over at the Ui’s with a smirk growing on his lips,

“Ah, Special Class Ui.” He greeted and went to approach the siblings, his eyes trailing immediately over to Koharu who could only return his gaze with a raise of her brow.

“Morning, Furuta.” The hope replied with a bit of a chill in his voice.

“And good morning to 1st class Ui of course~” Furuta seemed a bit more chipper towards her as a smile crossed his face, though Koharu was left scratching her head.

“…I’m sorry but who are you again?”

“EHH?! You don’t know me? Your brother literally just said my name…ah the pain Koharu Ui…So much pain.” Furuta Nimura, someone who followed under Kijima. Honestly the hope didn’t know to much about the fellow except that he and Hairu knew each other in someway…That’s what Ui told his sister as they made their escape from his drama, “Huh…? Where’d they go?”

Now in the hallway again, the Ui siblings made their way around the corner of the hallway to which Koharu mumbled under her breath,

“What a creep…did you see the way he looked at me?”

“Hairu said he was…an odd one.”

“No kidding…well, I’d better get back to my office to meet with my group, we have some meetings to attend to.”

“Alright. Stay safe.” Her brother gave a nod before leaving back down the hall way again…that was his office area after all. But she couldn’t help but tease and call back,

“I can’t get hurt in a meeting! Relax.” She could see him shake his head as he pressed on inside his office room. Hopefully today he would ask her as she was tired of having to listen to him complaining, maybe Hairu could help him out of his grumpy zone. In fact, he should just ask her to marry him on the spot.  
‘She’d make a cool sister.’ She thought as she glanced back to see that Hairu had just made it into the office and was already walking up next to Ui, a bright smile that was equal to that of the sunrise she saw on the balcony.

\--

Just as Koharu was making her way back to the Qs/Beta offices she heard the sounds of laughter and screaming.

“I LOOK RIDCULOUS!” …’Shirazu?’

“Nah- you look better then I do in a dress!”… ‘Brooke’

“I…Don’t think I should be wearing this…”…’Mutsuki’

“You look great, now is this lip gloss wondrous or wondrous?” …’Michiko (probably)’

“Wowza Haise! That dress makes your butt stand out!”…’god Kitami that’s your superior!’

“Huh, hey you’re right! Look at that, is that mine?”…’Haise…’

 **OH MY GOD**.

Immediately Koharu rushed into the office to see what she wished she could have unseen…

The Qs were all getting done up in dresses and getting their make up done by Michiko and Carma…What the actual fuck.

“Yo, Koharu.” Saiko waved as she plucked a candy into her mouth like this was everyday routine. 

“Huh? What’s…?”

“It’s okay Koharu,” Haise? Said as he approached her…he did surprisingly well in heels, “It’s for our next mission. We need to disguise ourselves as girls to get into the location.”

“But I’m not great with make up and stuff so… asked Kitami who asked Michiko…” Saiko sighed as she popped another candy in her mouth. Still, Koharu wished she could unsee this.

Haise walked over to her surprisingly well considering he was in heels.

“I see that.”

“Not by choice!” Shirazu commented as Michiko applied some lipstick on him, “None of us know how to do this make up stuff!”

The Qs were planned to participate in the upcoming raid as well as 2 selected members from the Beta squad to which Koharu still had to appoint. Apparently they weren’t to have their entire squad on board, as a way to preserve ‘team B’ if something was to go drastically wrong during this mission. After all, they were the only one’s with the surgery and abilities, if they were to all be whipped out it would be a loss for the CCG; at least this was what Koharu was told.

There would always be death in their raids from both sides of the war, but if the One-Eyed owl were to show up, it would be too risky.

But all this being said Koharu wanted to make sure that which ever two she sent were going to be prepared to jump into something like this, physically and mentally, in a way it would just be an eye opener to what the reality of fighting ghouls is really like instead of a few street crawlers. She had already sealed her choices and was prepared to tell them tonight.

“Well whatever you’re doing, tea parties or scaring away children,” Koharu raised her hands in the air as if not to interfere, “Just stay on task!” She was referring to her own squad but they all gave her nod. “Okay well, I’m going to get coffee before the meeting…Do any of you want anything?”

“Thanks Koharu, but me and my group are going to go and find Urie…he managed to escape playing dress up this time!”

“WAIT WE HAVE TO GO OUT LIKE THIS?!” Shirazu exclaimed in great fear,

“It’s good practice to get into our characters.” And just like that, the Qs left the office by the clack of their uneven heels.

“Well…Do any of you want coffee?” Koharu asked as she shook her head to keep herself from laughing, which didn’t work as her giggles started to seep out.

All of them requested a coffee, which meant somehow Koharu would have to manage carrying 5 of them. Oh well.

‘Hey...where did Hairu get that coffee she gave me that one time? It was good...I should ask.’

\--

“You can’t be serious!” Ryoichi retorted after hearing what he was going to do that morning,

“You’re ready and you’ll be fine,” Touka sighed as she put on a light jacket, “It’s not usually that busy at this hour, just a few business people.”

Touka was leaving Ryoichi in charge of :re while she stepped out to pick up the weekly groceries to make food for their human customers. She actually usually gave this job to him as it got him out for a while. But she also wanted him to have some independence and know how to run the shop in case she ever had to leave for a long amount of time.

“Come on! Can’t Yomo do it? Or Kanae?”

“Stop your winning and put on your big boy pants on!” Kanae huffed as she sipped her own cup of coffee that was in front of her, “erwachsen werden”

“Yomo’s still out collecting meat…and you’re not going to be alone you know, Kanae’s going to watch you.”

“EXCUSE ME?” the purple haired woman nearly spit out her coffee, “Who do you think-?”

“I trust that if anything does go wrong you can clean up his mess…Now I’ve got to get going, I want to get there as all the...I guess ‘fresh stuff’ is out. Bye.” And just like that Touka left down the street leaving Ryoichi in a mix between fear and anxiousness.

“Get that stupid look off your face!” Kanae yapped,

“Huh?”

“You’ll scare away the customers with a look like that, look friendly for fucks sake, this is nothing new to you! You know how to make coffee and work the shop.”

“Right.”

“Tsk..” Sometimes it was moments like this that Kanae questioned how she considered this guy to be her friend, “Look see, here’s your first customer.” As the bell jingled above the door, Ryoichi’s gaze fell upon a young woman in business attire just like Touka had predicted. However her smell…was a little off…but he was going to assume she was human. But a human would have nothing to do with him anyways.  
She was cute though, with her dark raven hair and pretty brown eyes.

“Welcome to :RE, what can I get you?”

“Hi there, I have a big order. I’m going to need 5 coffees, one black, two with cream, one with sugar and cream, then one with two sugar and two cream. Oh this is all to go.”

“Hey, dipshit, did you get that?” Kanae asked as she could see that Ryoichi was clearly in somewhat of a trance…that wouldn’t be good for business, “Ryoichi!”

“O-Oh! Right…! Umm, could you please repeat that, miss?”

Little did Ryoichi know that this was a human that was friends with the people that tried to kill him not all that long ago.

He could feel Kanae’s eyes on him the entire time as he prepared the coffees and handed them to their customer in a disposable tray, his hands even shook as he put the money away,

“Hope to see you again soon.”


	5. Waiting For A Girl Like You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this chapter was a bit...all over the place. But I really wanted to get most of the perspectives in before the start of the Auction section next chapter!
> 
> Also...I think you'll see why this is one of my favourite chapters so far ;)

Well not all things can go perfectly according to plan…then again it was very rare for anything to work out to a tea

Apparently something had come up for Hirako and he’d requested that Koharu and her group take in the Zero Squad kids for the evening. Hirako never liked to leave those kids by themselves even though they were perfectly capable of staying home alone; he always wanted to make sure they always had someone with them.

 _'They’ve been alone enough’_ that’s what he told her once.

Either way, this meant that Koharu would have to break the news to the selected two in secret and tell the remaining squad members later. Just how she was going to do so was the problem.

After dinner, Brooke suggested that they all play a video game in the living room which surprisingly made this easier for Koharu as now she’d be able to slip the duo the away while the remaining two were busy entertaining.  
“Let’s play ‘ _Mario cart_!’” Shio suggested as he was already digging through the large stack of games.

“I SUCK AT THAT GAME!” Brooke said as she took the game out of his hands and put it back, “plus I still need the wheel…”

“…” Rikai didn’t even care what game they played, she was perfectly fine with anything.

“How about ‘ _Just Dance?_ ’” Kitami asked as she pointed to the large array of the same game, but end up pulling out one of the older ones.

“I like that game.” Yusa said in response, while he didn’t cared what they played either he’d be fine with anything she wanted to play...even a dancing game. With no one else to argue, they all started to move the beanbag chairs to the side and set up the gaming system. To the side, Koharu tapped Carma and Michiko on the shoulders and urged them to follow her upstairs; lucky for them they were able to sneak away without being seen by the others, as they were already too busy discussing the first song.

Alone in Koharu’s room, she closed the door behind them, as her two-team mates were still baffled to why they were called.

“What’s going on?”

“Is something wrong Haru-nee?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” She reassured, fiddling with her fingers and trying her best not to look anxious, “I just wanted to discuss something with you…”

“Well if this is about a guy lets here it. Spit it out, who is he?” Michiko didn’t even look ashamed for being so foreword with the question…but she was so off the mark it hurt.

“What?!” Koharu could feel the tips of her ears get warm as blood started to rush into them, “No! this isn’t about anything like that!” Koharu didn’t have time for a man in her life right now and she wasn’t even interested in anyone so how did Michiko just assume something like that. Clearly she still had to teach her squad members a few things yet. Coughing she got them back on course, “Anyways…What I wanted to talk to you two about was the up coming raid next week. You know how the Qs is participating in it correct?” She didn’t need to say much more for them to start connecting the dots and Michiko was the first to speak again,

“Koharu are we all...participating as well?”

“Not all of us…just you two are.”

“What?”

“Look, I’ll explain,” as would be, their leader proceeded to tell them the outline of the operation and the reasoning behind it. She could tell by their face expressions that they were lost in that reasoning…she couldn’t blame them, “I was told that they wanted to send in 2 members from our squad as well and I was given the privilege to choose who was to go in…”

“But why us?” Michiko asked again, her wavy hair falling out of place as she glanced over at the pinkette beside her who’d said nothing since they came upstairs, “Did you think it would be best to get rid of us first or something?”

“That’s not the reason at all Michiko-!” Koharu’s voice started to raise a bit too much that she had to catch herself incase the others could hear them. She had to understand that this was a lot for them to take in all of a sudden, they were confused and this would be their first real operation; they wouldn’t even be working with the whole group. What would yelling do anyways but cause high blood pressure? Taking a deep breath, she continued to explain her thought pattern, “I didn’t choose you two because I thought you were the weak ones or anything of the sort. I actually picked you because you both have been displaying great determination and your use of kagune’s has improved significantly. I think you two would have the highest extermination rates out of the group right now and that you’d work well with the others. Michiko, I think your confidence will get you through easily and Carma…You’re a spark just waiting to burst into flame. I think once you’re out there you’ll be killing ghouls right left and center.”

“But…Haru-nee…” Carma whispered out, “I…”

“You’ll do fine, Carma. You’ve gotten better and I’ve seen it! I wouldn’t be asking you if I didn’t think you’re ready. You just need to give it your all.”

Even if her squad leader, her superior who’d been training with her since the start had all the faith in her, Carma still lacked that faith in herself. But from the corner of her eye she could see Michiko looking down on her with a sort of distaste or even disgust.

“So…What do you girls think? Will you participate?” the sudden unsettling silence in the room gave her a brief hint of doubt, but as soon as Michiko adjusted her hair and a smirk was on her face, things started to turn and hopefully for the better.

“As a lady I should refuse…But who would I be to back down from an miraculous offer? After all, I could get a badge for this if I manage to kill a high rated ghoul right?”

“Don’t get too cocky now…” Honestly Koahru shouldn’t be complaining about something that she literally just said would be her key to success, “Well, as long as you’re both okay with it, we’ll tell the board tomorrow morning. Oh, and let’s tell Brooke and Kitami as soon as the kids leave. Until then keep low about it.”

“We got it, isn’t that right…Carma?” Then as Michiko made her way out of the room making sure to eye her upcoming companion before joining the others in their dance game.

Carma stayed back for a moment to collect her thoughts. What was up with Michiko…did she not trust her or something? Was she really ready for this? It would get her that much closer to achieving her goal but…now that she was standing in the position she wasn’t so sure.

‘ _Masaya…_ ’

Then she was shocked out of her thoughts when she felt a hand land on her shoulder and looked up at Koharu’s face. Well it wasn’t like Carma could hide her uneasiness as well as the others...She was the weakest when it came to emotional strength.

“You’ll be fine Carma…You won’t be alone out there, the Qs will be there, Suzuya and his team will be there, and I know that Michiko can be a bit of a headache at times, but she won’t let you die out there. None of them will. Just do your best and remember your training.”

“You really think I’m ready?”

“Like I said, I wouldn’t be sending you if I didn’t.”

Carma didn’t reply to her, she just nodded her head and turned her gaze to the floor.

“But if you’re not ready…I can always send Brooke or Kitami ins-“

“No! I’ll do it…I need to…For Masaya…”

This was touchy subject and a minefield for anyone who dared to cross Carma and the story of the man who owned this name. She never told any of them directly of who he was exactly and every time they asked about him it usually brought the pinkette to tears. Before Koharu could say anything else they heard Michiko yell,

“ALL STAR!” The two girls ran out to the stair case to see what the commotion was about only to find out that their team mate had gotten the highest score on their recent dance battle; her partner in crime was Rikai who seemed a little less then enthused. Apparently they were doing a dance that included pairs, and from where they were could see, Brooke and Shio were together as well as Kitami and Yusa.

“We could have gotten at least 3 stars if you bothered to make an effort Brooke.” Shio said a bit disappointed as he looked at their sad, single star.

“Hey I don’t do this touchy-touch kind of dancing!” Brooke retorted to her younger dance partner. However, the child was quickly interested on a different matter as he glanced over at Yusa to see that he got placed with Kitami and even though he didn’t look it, Shio could see the shyness coming out of Yusa just by the way his hands were shaking afterword. Well at least he had fun. Now with Rikai beside him, both of his wing man and wing girl even tried to edge him on a little to try and get Yusa talk to her by gesturing their hands; apparently Yusa didn’t want their help as he tried to shoo them away. But it seemed like Shio had other plans to get his friend to talk.

“So Kitami, you guys got second,” While he spoke to her, the 14 year old could see Yusa mouthing him to ‘ _stop it_!’ “How was Yusa as a dance partner?”

“Hmm..” she looked thoughtful for a moment as if to process the question. If she had to think about it, she was trying to save his feelings…right?! “You know, not bad at all. He kept up with the pace and followed the dance really well.” For a bleating moment he looked at her in awe, did she really think he was a good dancer? The more he thought on it, the more he liked it…being good at something other then fighting, “But he hesitated to touch me when he was supposed to hold my hand or my hips…or really any other moves like that.”  
Damn it.

“Well I uh..”

‘ _I’m afraid to touch your body you know…_ ’ of course saying that out loud would scare her away for good. Why was he so bad at these things?

“Hey Kitami, Lets do ‘ _The Summer Time_ ’ song! For old time’s sake.” Brooke called as she and the others were already browsing through the songs and in an instant Kitami was by her other friend’s side as if the conversation never happened, leaving Yusa feeling a little bit disheartened. He hated these feelings he had for her because she was so much older then him

15…20

She wouldn’t want to be with him, he probably only saw him as a little brother figure at best…but what was worse is that he could never communicate his feelings to her no matter how much he wanted to. Was he afraid? Perhaps. So he could take down ghouls but not say a confession…But as soon as she was close to her his hands got clammy and his tongue got twisted…He was love sick. Maybe one day when the time was right he’d speak up, but when…?

Meanwhile on the stairs, Koharu couldn’t help but give a chuckle as she watched them, honestly she couldn’t help but join in herself as it looked like too much fun to miss out on. But as for Carma, she decided to head back up stairs to her own room. While spending time with her friends was all fun and well, she wasn’t in the mood to do so anymore, not when the reaper was standing behind her. She fell onto her bed and picked up the brown cowboy hat that sat on top of her pillow where she always kept it.

Masaya…Masaya…

Lying down, she couldn’t control herself as she curled into a ball and hugged the hat close to her so that she could take in the scent within it as she weeped herself to sleep as she thought of her lost lover.

“Think of pretty flowers…Pretty flowers… Pretty flowers…Tulips, Daffodils….All in a row…”

\--

“You didn’t have to stay with me you know,” Ui noted to his partner as the two of investigators made their way out of the CCG building late in the night, “I don’t mind doing paper work alone.”

“I know but I thought you’d want some company.” She said as with a skip in her step, “We were the last to leave you know.”

First to arrive, the last to leave, Ui was already fairly accustomed to that procedure; that was one of the many things that came along with being a special class.

“Yes…But really you didn’t have to stay that late with me. You were free to go home hours ago.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Yes, every time she smiled Ui felt his heart skip a beat in his chest, as she was just so beautiful. Gorgeous. Really why would someone as good as her want to hang around with a guy like him; he would never deserve a goddess like her.

“Don’t you have better things to do then to hang around an old man like me?” He said as he began to reach into his pocket for his cigarettes out of habit…then he stopped himself or rather, Hairu’s hand did as she put her hand on his arm and wore her signature pout. She did this often to him when he said things like this.

“You’re not old Koori! Why do you say things like that all the time?”  
“Because it’s true.”

“No it’s not!” She was clearly trying to win the argument and had done so successfully because she was so close to Koori that he could feel something else touching his arm.

“…I can walk you to the train station if you’d like?” He had to change the subject quickly, especially with Hairu getting so close to him now that she was basically holding onto his arm like couples do, “and…let go…people will stare.”

“Let them,” She then reached one of her hands lower until it was brushing against his own and finally holding it.

Her hands were so soft. Just as he imagined they were.

“Hairu…I’d really appreciate it if you would-“ he had to look away, he couldn’t let her see his reddening face. This was what he wanted wasn’t it? To stand close to her like this, to hold her hand, to be her main focus in the moment?

“Come on…You said you’d walk me to the station right?” He could feel her fingers try and lock with his to which he too eventually couldn’t fight and held onto her hand. His must have felt hard and course compared to hers…But she never said anything about it and in fact smiled even more as they began to walk in the cool fall night air.

But what they hadn’t taken the time to realize was that the trains were no longer running at this hour, at least none that would take Hairu to her side of the city.

“Oh, I guess I really didn’t know how late it was…I could always take a cab or walk. Well, thanks for walking me here anyways.” Just as he felt her hand began to loosen and slip from his grip, he immediately held onto it tighter as if to hold her back because he was going to loose her. If she took a cab she could encounter Torso and while Ui had no doubt that she could handle her own weight he didn’t like the idea…and walking was out of the question!

“Hairu you know…you could always stay at my place for the night…” and as soon as he said that he wanted to crawl away into a hole. Was that a little too direct? Weird even? “I just…Don’t want you to be…alone.” Was that the reason, “I care about you and…want to know you’re safe.” It just kept getting worse every time he opened his mouth and he was almost certain his face was becoming more and more red to the point where he felt the need to tug at his collar. Well there goes his chance with Hairu and his promise to Koharu.

But to his upmost surprise, Hairu didn’t seem to be upset at all; in fact she seemed totally content and gripped his hand again in return.

To Hairu, to hear someone care about her like that made her feel so happy. There were no other words she could use to describe it. Though what Ui had said was strange for him, she still took it to heart and thought it over in only seconds…not even.

“You want me to…stay with you?”

He didn’t respond to her, instead he nodded his head and even though his dark hair was hiding most of his face right now, she could see how flustered he was right then. For now, the two didn’t talk as they made their way back to Ui’s apartment which wasn’t too far from the station; holding hands the whole way back. But even if they weren’t talking, not once did Hairu ever feel awkward because his words kept playing in the back of her mind.

He cared about her.

When they arrived and Ui fumbled for the key to let them inside, something occurred to him…This was the first time Hairu had been here…actually this was the first time he’d brought any woman here.

‘What do I do, what do I say? It’s like 1 am and we have work tomorrow…I doubt I have any wine she likes…’ so many things were going through his head, what to do now? They just walked all night holding hands…co-workers don’t generally do that do they?

“Um, Welcome to my place.” He finally spoke as Hairu was already roaming around and looking at his fairly plain living area. He was so thankful that he always kept the place clean, not that Hairu was the type to be bothered by that kind of thing.

“I like your place,” she said as she ran her fingers over the top of the couch, the smile still on her face, “It screams Koori Ui.”

“I don’t know how to think of that…plain and boring?”

“Stop that! No…I meant that it’s so nice and everything is just perfect. Not too much and not too little. It’s comfortable.”

“Really…?” To him, it was a place to sleep, nothing more so when he heard her say such things he had to wonder why. Maybe she was just being nice. Oh well, speaking of sleep maybe he should get ready to do so.

“The bathroom is down here and my bedroom is there. I’m just going to get a pillow then it’s all yours.” He sighed as he started to take his tie off and head into the bedroom but once again Hairu stopped him as she gently reached out to pull on his sleeve.

“Wait…you’re sleeping on the couch?”

“It beats the floor.”

“Koori, that’s not fair…I don’t need the bed, I’m the one invading on you-“

“Hairu please just-“ he was about to scold her out of old times habit…but that was certainly not the way to speak to the girl you like…right? “Look Hairu-“

“Koori…I don’t mind…”

“Don’t mind what?”

“You sleeping next to me.” Her gaze fell to her feet and Koori felt his own do the same. It wouldn’t be right to even sleep next to her as to invade such a bubble. But then the pinkette’s gaze lifted back so that she was looking at Ui again, “Um, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” The two of them then walked back over to the couch and whatever Hairu wanted to ask him seemed a little more serious then usual. What’s going on? For a few moments neither of them said anything, but Ui waited patiently for her to say what was on her mind.

“You see…what you said to me earlier really made me happy…When you said you cared about me and wanted to make sure I was safe…You know, that’s the first time anyone’s ever said that to me.”

“Huh…Really?”

“Yes…and the part about not wanting me to be alone…”

“You heard that too…?”

“All of it,” Soon, her own face was becoming as pink as her cherry blossom hair that started to fall over her own face. Put her hands reached out to take hold of his again but this time held them close to her, “I know it wasn’t much…but it still made me glad to know that someone cares about me. I didn’t think anyone did besides Arima…”

As much as Ui looked up to that man as a teacher, he would always see him as a double time threat. He was wise and knew many things that he himself could only wish to know, but he was cold and distant…why had Hairu been interested in him for so long? It hurt him and he always would watch from the sidelines as she peered over him and asked to play Shiritori from time to time. No…right now he would change that. Maybe his mind was working differently because of how late it was but for some reason he finally felt some courage build up within him. Now was the time to say something, even if it failed he had to at least say he tried.

“I always cared about you Hairu,” he said as he made sure he was making eye contact with her to prove his sincerity, “I’ve always cared for you. I know I’ve made my mistakes in the past and at the start I treated you terribly…I’m sorry for that…but my scolding’s, I just wanted to make sure you were equipped to do your best and…it always just seems to come out the wrong way. But even after that I just hope that you keep by my side as I…Look Hairu what I’m trying to say is…” the young hope couldn’t even finish his sentence as Hairu’s face started to light up the farther he went as if she was finally seeing the light.

He couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t say it

He couldn’t bare the rejection.

But even before he had the chance to get up from his seat, Hairu leaned in a bit closer to him,

“Hairu what are you-“ and in an instant his mind stopped working as he felt a pair of soft, luscious lips land on his own. Wait was Hairu Ihei kissing him? He didn’t move from that spot as if he was frozen there, he wanted to ask why but at the same time didn’t want the kiss to end. Unfortunately for him, Hairu was the first to pull back and from what he could see was tears starting to stream down her cheeks, “Wh-“

“Koori…Do you love me…?”

“I..I do.” He didn’t mean to sound hesitant, but he was still in shock from the kiss that he had to take a moment to carefully take things in and answer best he could with what wasn’t already affected by his over whelming emotions. But he had to get through it because here they were on his couch after having their first kiss and she was crying. Carefully, he reached out his hand to her and moved some of her beautiful pink hair behind one of her ears and was quick to wipe away any ears that started to fall,

“Why did you never tell me…?” She asked she rubbed one of her eyes and he had to take a breath before speaking,

“I didn’t think you liked me back…so I never said anything to keep things cool between us. You’ve been the light in every dark moment, you show me new things even if I don’t seem interested…you get me out of my shell.” He didn’t want to loose their bond if she were to have rejected him and Hairu seemed flustered by his answer,  
“But…I love you too…I never thought about your scolding’s as ways that you cared. But I do love you for you anyways…you’ve always been leading me in the right direction and not just as a work partner but as a friend too…”

“So, we’ve both been holding back, huh?” For a moment, the two of them had to have a quick laugh before she asked him,

“Then, what does this make us…? I mean if we both love each other, we should be together…right?” Ui wanted nothing more then to be with her but of course this kind of choice would come down to the two of them deciding together what would be best.  
But there was no going back now was there? Sure they’d have to explain to the others of their relationship and that could cause it’s own set of issues as they were investigators after all with unpredictable time to live…Perhaps they’d be selfish but at the end of the day who was to get in the way of their happiness.

“Hairu…would you like to be my girlfriend?” he then stood up and knelt on one knee so he was able to kiss her hand just like the princes do in the stories to which he was able to get a giggle out of her…and was soon brought down to the floor as she leaped down to try and hug him,

“Yes! Yes I’d love too!” She then started to kiss him over and over again, though some of them were a little sloppy it was clear that he was probably the first man she’d ever kissed…but then again he was no different. But perhaps with a little time and a little practice they’d both improve.

Ui then leaned up a little so that their foreheads were touching and their fingers intertwined once again…but she asked him something that he really didn’t expect to hear,

“Koori…are you a virgin?”

“H-huh?” Once again he could feel his entire body start to heat up and his eyes start to widen, “Where is this coming from?”

“It’s just…I’m one and…wanted to know if you are too…?” She bit her bottom lip as if expecting him to say he wasn’t…which was the farthest thing from the truth since he’d never been in a relationship before until a few minutes ago. But if she were to ask, he’s give her his answer and nodded,

“I guess that makes two of us…”

“Then…we can learn together?”

Even though Ui was not one to crave such a course of action, he couldn’t help but stare at her pale, untouched skin that lined her neck and part of her shoulder as she started to unbutton her shirt.

“Hold on-“ he said as he positioned her in his arms and stood up to carry her bridal style, “I think the bedroom would be a more suited place then the floor.” He wanted to at least make their first time comfortable.

So with that, the prince carried his princess to his bedroom and closed the door behind him so that he could prove his true love for her and so that she could do the same.

It was a night full of desire and passion, though he trembled by sound of her gasping voice calling out his name; he was determined to be a man worth so much more then what he already was. Hairu was the best and ultimately deserved the best. If that meant giving up the world, he would in an instant.

Even if this was a rather quick step in their new relationship, Koori couldn’t help but stare in pure wonder as his lovely girlfriend was now fast asleep next to him, the afterglow still present on her perfect body. She was beautiful and he wanted to tell her that a million times over if she was still awake…But it still bothered him how she said that no one ever said they cared about her…that just can’t be right can it? If she ever felt that way, he’d do his best so that she’d never have to feel that way again…for once in his life he wants to stand up for more then just himself.

Contently, Ui wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him as if to protect her from even her nightmares.

“I love you…” He whispered before finally falling asleep next to her. This was surly a night he’d never forget.

\--

“So, where are we going again?” Ryoichi asked as Kanae lead him down an unfamiliar part of Tokyo, “A mask shop?”

“You said you didn’t have a mask didn’t you…? If you plan on accompanying me to the Auction then you need a mask. Besides what idiot ghoul goes around without a mask…?”

“Oh…I can think of one.”

She didn’t seem overly pleased about him coming along with her to this auction thing, but Touka insisted that he needed some experience outside of the shop…even if this wasn’t what she had in mind. But even if something were to happen, Kanae wasn’t too concerned for how Ryoichi handled himself, all that mattered was finding something for Master Shuu…

Finally, she lead him down into a dark shop that was quiet a sight indeed…at least to him anyways. He’d never seen anything quite like this...but some reason his eyes managed to gaze over the man standing behind him.

“Who’s this?” when he turned to finally see him Ryochi nearly jumped out of his socks only to have Kanae punch him in the gut, “It’s not like you to come down here Kanae.”

“I wouldn’t if this dummkopf didn’t need a mask,” her eyes narrowed towards a more then frazzled Ryoichi, “This is Uta, he’s going to make you a mask.”

“So your name is Ryoichi Takeo…?” Uta had him sit in front of a mirror and was already taking up close and personal measurements, even sniffing sections of his hair, 

“It’s so red….Like blood.”

“It’s my father’s…” He said, “I hate it though.”

“Why? Red is such a powerful color?” That comment managed to get a kick out of Kanae who was leaning against the wall next to him; but he wasn’t offended.

“Want one?” Uta handed out a jar of eyeballs towards Ryoichi who shook his head, “Suit yourself.” 

“Did you get his measurements…? I have things I got to do today you know and if you’re busy snacking then-“ Kanae was about to grab Ryoichi by the arm and drag him out with her,

“Don’t worry I got him covered. I’ll bring by the mask to :re in a few days…before the date.” He said as he finalized something on a piece of paper and popped one of the eyes into his mouth.


	6. Tainted Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this chapter is a little bit shorter then the usual. But I wanted to create that much more suspense for the next one that I'm really excited for!

In the darker ends of the city into one of Aogiri’s hideouts, the ghouls inside are already working on their own plans for the auction. In command, Eto had requested that both Hideyori Shion and the younger brother of Touka, Ayato Kirishima to come and speak with her to discuss over what they were going to be doing. Of course what it was, was something much to Ayato’s distaste especially since he’d have a chance of having to deal with a ‘floopy’.

“Okay…”

“It brings in good money Ayato~”

“…”

Aogiri had been hired by the ghoul known as, Big Madam, in order to protect her during the auction as it was known to on occasion bring in some unwelcomed guests. Eto had assigned Ayato and Hinami to be the head of the assignment and make this solo job their top priority. However, Hideyori had to do something a little bit different.

“You’re going to stay in the back.”

“…huh?” What did that mean stay in the back? Was she not going out at all? “What are you getting at?”

“Sorry, I mean, you’re going to be the back up.”

“So…You don’t need me.”

“That’s not what I said!” The greenette said as she carefully unwrapped the bandages from around her face so that she could make eye contact, “You’re needed just as much as Ayato or Hinami~ You see, while I say that their top priority is to protect the Madam, there’s a chance that some nosey little doves might show up. If that happens, then obviously most of our forces will be too busy fighting them to protect the het leaving her vulnerable…It’s no secret that she’s a priority for the doves and their main course of action will be to take her out. So if some little investigators wiggle their way through, you’re job is to dispose of them in place.”

Hideyori turned her head to the side, sure that job was important in terms…but still she’d much rather be in front lines.

“Fine…if you need me…”

“Good~”

“If you don’t need anything else I’m heading.“ Ayato said, making his way out of their sight before being called by Eto once more.

“Oh and Ayato!”

“…?”

“If you’re going to see Hinami, remember the condoms.”

“Shut up!” With Hinami and Ayato preparing for battle and informing the others, Eto held Hideyori back for a while longer,

“Let’s have a coffee! We haven’t done that in a while have we?”

“This is hardly the time.”

“It’s always time for coffee! Hey, your hair is getting a tad on the long side there~” Her friend then started to touch the back of her long blue strands of hair, “It’ll be a pickle if it got in the way of a fight.”

“Hmm.” She never thought about it that way, she’d never cared for her appearance since joining Aogiri…she’d just get blood on herself anyways so why pressure herself into gussying up?

There’s just no point of being pretty.

But Eto had a point, if it got too long it would be a hustle to deal with later on, “Yeah…I guess I’ll cut it later.”

“Let me do it.”

“No fucking way. You’ll put the scissors in places they don’t belong.”

“You know me so well~” The greenette giggled as she walked over to a small coffee machine in a closed off room to brew them each a small cup. Bitter and grainy. Oh well there’s never enough time to go out for a nice brew. Besides, Hideyori had already grown accustomed to this taste.

“But Eto…how do you know that the doves are going to attack? I thought this was only known by the elite ghouls and us.”

“Oh…Well, I guess I could let you in on a little secret. You’re my best friend after all.”

“Don’t push it.”

“Haha I’m serious-anyways-let’s just say I’m friends with a little birdie that told me.”

\--

When the day of the auction finally arrived, everyone was on edge in the CCG. Koharu, Brooke, and Kitami had all been standing in the report room, waiting for any possible news on how everyone was making out. So far, nothing had come in but in a way ‘no news was good news.’ But as far as she was aware, Michiko and Carma were currently making their way over to catch up to Suzuya’s squad.

As for Ryoichi and Kanae, they had just made their way inside the very busy building. Most of the ghouls were considered the high elite, or so that’s what Ryoichi could assume from their extravagant and overwhelming appearances. For now he kept his mask on as he could recognize some of the ghouls in the room, the ones from Aogiri. Thank goodness for his new mask.

“Just stay close and don’t say anything,” Kanae said, “I don’t need to loose you in here.”

“Right.”

The duo made their way up to the side of one of the railing that gave them an over view look of the stage down below. Currently they were bringing out a woman who had her hands tied behind her back and their mouths covered with a tightly knotted cloth. He had to turn away as the bidding began to start as he started to glance around the room at the people who thought he was dead. There was Ayato…Hinami…Naki and the white suits…they were all there one way or another and he assumed most were on guard. To be honest Ryoichi had never been here in person before even as a guard so it was interesting to see what it was all about. Still, he couldn’t help but notice one girl who was standing in the back of the room with her arms folded over her chest and her mask off her face looking bored as ever. Hideyori. It was a risky move, but he wanted to speak with her at the very least. Besides, everyone else seemed to be too occupied to notice him.

“H-Hideyori?” he whispered out meekly and nearly lost his head by startling her. Oh right, the mask. He quickly took it off and in an instant she stopped her attack and looked at him almost thoughtfully.

“Ryo?” Yes, this was Hideyori all right. She must have cut her hair, but her freckles were undeniable.

Cute.

It was then as he gazed at her grey, almost periwinkle eyes that he realized just how much he actually missed her. Though it’s hard to believe that he actually missed someone who was part of something that he hated. “Ryo is that really you? How’re you-…I mean, I thought the doves got you.”  
“It’s a long story,” he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to not to look her in the eyes for too long otherwise he might just fall under her spell again, “I somehow managed to get away.”

“You’re a Takeo after all. I knew you’d get powerful one day or another.”

“Being a Takeo- Ugh. Look…I don’t think I’ll be coming back to Aogiri.“

“What? What do you mean you won’t be coming back?“ Ryoichi glanced over briefly at Kanae who still hadn’t noticed him missing and Ayato didn’t seem to notice him either. So bravely he took the chance and tried his best to explain to her everything that had happened to him over the past few weeks, how he’d been taken into :re, made friends with the ghouls who’d worked there, his training, his strength increasing, he told her everything and yet she still looked like a deer in the head lights.

“Hideyori it’ll be fine without me. I was never an important aspect to Aogiri anyways.”

“But you are important.”

“In what ways exactly?” He was already aware of his past abilities; he was lucky to be alive really. Every mission he was assigned to he ended up getting tossed to the side carelessly or was being protected by Hideyori as she fought off their foes with ease, “I’m sorry Hideyori…But the only reason they kept me in was because of my father. Honestly if they didn’t owe him they would have tossed me out long ago…you know that by now I’m sure.”

He was a useless boyfriend. He couldn’t stand his ground and that’s why he tried to pick a fight with doves that night; he just wanted to be a man that she could lean on, someone who was more important and more then a name. Of course, he didn’t think he’d be running into Quinx’s that night. That’s what Touka said they were anyways.

But with these facts in check, even she struggled to find words to try and prove him wrong.

“Ryo…You were important to-“

“Ryoichi!” Kanae called as she turned to him from the balcony, “Where’d you go?”

“Who’s that?” Hideyori asked as she glanced over at Kanae and scrunched her nose in distaste, “Oh…You’re here with him?”

“Him? Uh…More for ‘experience’.“

“Experience?!”

“Exposure.”

“Ryo!”

Was she thinking they were still together? Oh. He never did break up with her did he…? Well perhaps this wasn’t the time or the place to do so especially with Kanae giving him a look like a mother would when her child was misbehaving. 

“Ryoichi! Get over here!”

“Um…I’ll see you around Hideyori. Let’s try and talk some time, ‘kay?” He left her confused as she stood trying to collect her thoughts on what he was trying to explain to her. He wasn’t coming back? Was it really just the café? Or was it one of the ghouls who worked there that he liked?

Indeed, she’d have to talk with him again sometime.

“What were you doing?” Kanae scoffed as she pulled on Ryoichi’s ear, not caring that they were drawing attention to themselves as he flailed in pain, “Playboy? Sweet talking?”

“O wow ow wowo w! NO! She’s my um…girlfriend.”

“Weird. You never mentioned her before.”

“It’s complicated.”

“They all say that.” And with a final tug she finally let go as Ryoichi cupped the side of his head trying hard not to let his eyes water. She was like an old lady or something! For now, Ryoichi would just have to put his love life to the side and watch the show below.

However, the show would not last the way that most had interpreted. The CCG had indeed invaded in on the auction and had been working their way to Madam. Kanae had run off somewhere in search of the girl that was auctioned earlier. For now, Ryoichi was on his own and did have to find a way around this mess and try and reunite with Kanae somehow.

Was there someway to avoid the doves? Probably not.

\--

“Michiko!”

“Hurry Carma! We’ve got to get to Suzuya’s squad!”

“At least wait for me a bit!” One of Carma’s flaws was her speed. While she’s improved since of late, she still couldn’t get up to Michiko’s top pace to which she was now sprinting at! And with a war going on around them it didn’t make it any easier.

“Either keep up with me or stay and fight the other ghouls! Juuzou, Mizurou and the others are already up against Madam and need more manpower!”  
With her Bikaku a-blaze, Michiko’s speed only increased as she zipped through the falling walls and piles of bodies.  
‘ _Hold on Mizurou_.’ Why did she think of him in such ways when he didn’t even recognize her feelings? Michiko often wondered that about herself…but maybe he felt the same about her. After all, even he always seemed happy to spend time with her on their breaks. Wait, maybe she should think of those thoughts later, ‘ _I’m coming_.’

Carma considered it a miracle that she was able to make it on scene only to witness that Juuzou was already fighting against the Madam along with his squad and a few others. From what she could see, Big Madam was surprisingly fast and her kagune was only merely missing the investigators.

Inch by inch.

Now that Carma was standing there…she felt her knees wobble under her and oh how she wanted to hear Koharu’s reassurance that she’d be okay. But Koahru wasn’t there. As for her squad mate, she was already scanning for an opportunity to which she could make a hit. As Michiko’s red eye scanned the situation she was quick to see that Urie Kuki, one of the Qs, was already in trouble and in an instant she jumped in and used her bopper to bash Madam away before she could engulf him; much to Urie’s dismay of being interrupted.

“What do you think you’re doing?! (you bitch!)”

“Excuse me but I’m saving your tush!”

“Michiko!” Mizurou exclaimed as he rushed over to her with a surprised expression. ‘Did he really expect anything less from such an accurate investigator such as she? “Nice save there!”

“Thanks!” But this was clearly no time to be bashful his praise, instead she had to focus on the task at hand. But she seemed to be forgetting something or rather someone.

“My my, I see two more pretty girls have come to join the party. Well, won’t you make fine pets.” Madam scoffed as she eyed both of the 2 Beta girls with interest. Though Mizurou wasn’t going to have it as he stood in front of both of them almost by instinct. But he soon felt a hand on his shoulder as was pushed to the side slightly so that Michiko could prepare herself to fight again. After all, she could depend on herself just as much as she could on him. Quinque or not, she knew she was tough. Even this little action of hers made him want to smile, but right now there where other things at stake and Mizurou’s attention had to be placed on their foe.

“Right, what formation should we take Juuzou sir?” And in a heartbeat, the Suzuya squad was already fighting at full pace again; it was truly a sigh to witness their skills as they proved the power of their own teamwork. Not to mention seeing Juuzou in a dress like this was pretty wicked too.

 

Still standing in the shadows was Carma who was trying her hardest not to break down and cry. She could easily be killed or seen as a traitor if she walked out of this.  
Masaya. Masaya. MASAYA.

She had to remind herself why she was fighting and whom she was fighting for. She knew for a fact that if he was standing here he wouldn’t be hesitating like this-no- Masaya would have jumped in there long ago even if he was empty handed.

Then again if he were still here she wouldn’t be in a place like this right now scared for her life or risking it. It was very likely that she wouldn’t be seeing Koharu again, or Kitami and Brooke.

That’s all the more reason to fight and live…right?

“Tulips…Daffodils…all in a row.” The pinkette took a quick breath and gazed over at Michiko who was fighting beside Mizurou, Juuzou who was working double time with his Jason and knives. Then of course Urie who almost got eaten was still fighting.

She’d been working for this, she was trained too, she knew how to work her Kagune, she should be fine.

She had to go in now, her friends needed her and if that’s the case, she should be able to join them.

“Right.” But before she even had a chance to join in the fight, she could hear Michiko shouting out her name then something wrapped it’s way around her and everything went blank.

\--

“I feel so useless here…” Koharu said as she sat in front of a monitoring screen, watching for anything of her friends and their status. Of course right now no updates had been sent in yet, but it broke her heart as she watched the death list grow and grow, “I can’t do anything.”  
At her side were Brooke and Kitami, they too had stayed the entire operation thus far and had refused to leave just as much as their squad leader had.

“They really did nit-pick didn’t they?” Kitami sighed as she leaned back in the leader chair and stared at the ceiling, one of her red bows starting to come loose.  
“Yep. Everyone’s down there but us really.” Brooke followed up with another sigh and leaned her head in her hands.”

“Why is that? I mean I know why but…”

“Simple. They wanted to save a few bodies.”

“Oh I guess so. But it’s not the same…we’re not supposed to work alone anymore.”

“We did it for a while a managed, they’ll be fine.”

“What if they’re not?”

“Can you two shut it!” Koharu already had enough on her plate and listening to them babble on wasn’t helping her stress. Not to mention she couldn’t hear the monitor, “But you know…You’re right Kitami. We should all be working together. Not 2 not 3 not all 5 of us. Sometimes I think the CCG is a bit twisted that way.”

It was at that moment that something came up on the screen and immediately Koharu felt as if she was going to be sick. An updated report on the casualties had just appeared on her screen and on there was a name that they’d been praying wouldn’t.

 

__

_Carma Kimura : deceased_


	7. Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I had some spare time on my hands and was able to finalize this chapter early! I usually post weekly or so, but I might still post the next chapter sometime mid week. 
> 
> There's 3 new OC's I added in here as well. 2 are only going to be used for this story and 1 will be coming into play later on.

_I can’t remember in any recent years where I truly felt at ease, nothing to fear. It was such a long time ago that now…I often wonder if it was just a dream._

In her earliest memories of childhood, Carma Kimura could still clearly picture the 2 most beloved women in her life; everything from their faces to their voices that still sang lullabies in her head. Souls that she’d never forget even if she’d had it beaten out of her.

Indeed, Carma had been raised by two mothers.

But even though their living situation was a little different from most families and her friends sometimes gave her wondering eyes, she still thought of them to be the prefect family. Why? Because they were happy.

She felt loved and in return, she gave them all the unconditional love any little child would. To her they were her everything.

At that time, Carma lived in the heart of Tokyo in a small apartment complex that was just a few blocks from the Tokyo tower. She went to a kindergarten just down the block or so. But her real past time was at the park to which she’d get the chance to go to every evening for a walk when her parent’s returned from work and to her it was always like going on an adventure!

“Look, Mama, look!” in the crisp spring evening air, young Carma rushed over to an bare garden patch that was just a few meters from the pond with her magenta eyes locked onto a small flower sprout. Behind her, a woman that looked nearly identical to her little daughter knelt beside her to see what she saw.

“Ah, would you look at that a little sprout is growing.”  
“Sprout?”

“Yes, a sprout. You know what comes from a sprout right?”

“A Flower!”

“That’s right! You’re such a smart girl. Soon there’s going to be lots of sprouts in the ground that will bring lots of beautiful flowers,” Then looking up at the tree’s, she lifted up Carma so that she could get a better look to see the tiny bumps growing along the branches, “Do you know what these are? These are leaf buds. Like the flowers, trees grow their own sprouts and before you know it pretty green leaves will be growing all over the place. Same with the Cherry Blossoms, they’ll be blooming in a couple of months.” It was a lot to take in for her, but Carma sucked all the information in like a sponge. She’d always had a thing for listening and understanding; she was pretty close to having a perfect memory too. Her birth mother, Mei Kimura took great pride in her child’s love for learning about the things around her and it was more amusing to watch her fascination bloom then to see an actual flower grow. However, in the distance, a shout came their way,

“Hey hey! Thought you might be hear already!” Midori Kimura, another woman with long aqua hair came striding over with such confidence in her step she looked like she just returned from getting a medal.

“Ma!” Carma called as she wriggled out of Mei’s grasp and sprinted to her other mother in more of a skip then a run, falling at her feet in laughter.

“Carma! Want to go to the swings? I’ll race ya!”

“Okay!” and in a short distance away, the child made her way out of her mother’s reach as she struggled to get onto one of the swings waiting to be pushed. Though Mei looked more concerned now that she was out of arms reach and quickly made her way over to her giving Midori a scowl for the suggestion.

“What’s with that face Mei-Mei?” she asked as she proceeded to her lover’s side, confused to see the harm in what she said, “She’s fine you know.”

“I’m not worried about Carma. I’m worried about-“

“Can you push me Mama?” the young pink haired child didn’t seem to be aware of what they were bickering about, but she still listened in. Sighing, her mother gently pushed her back and fourth almost robotically as she continued to pester onto the aqua haired woman about her concerns.

“Like I said, I’m not worried about Carma, I’m worried about what’s around her.”

“Now what are you on about?”

“Ghouls, Midori, ghouls!” Indeed, creatures that roamed the streets were anything but humane and in the blink of an eye could kill you in an instant if they wanted; “There was already an attack this morning you know! 3 yesterday!”

“Mei-Mei, I love you but I think you watch the news a little too much. You should stop that, it’s bad for your health. Besides there’s that…Ghoul fighting crime place…No one’s going to hurt you, me, or Carma. Besides, have you ever met one in the first place?”

“This is serious!” the pinkette shouted in more of a loud whisper, “They could be sitting beside you on the train and you wouldn’t even know it…all I’m saying is that I don’t want to leave Carma alone or be too far from her. Because…if something did threaten her…I’d give up my life instead if it meant she could live.”

“Don’t say that! I mean…I would too, for both of you, but let’s not talk about this anymore…it’s getting depressing.”

“Yes, you’re right. Let’s drop it for now.” Their lives were pretty safe as it was anyways, Midori worked at the gym as a fitness instructor and Mei was a teacher. Even Carma had full time care at her kindergarten so there’s nothing to worry about. Carefully, the pinkette pulled the swing to a stop and let her daughter climb off, “Come on lets go home.”

“Oh…Okay!”

Ghouls? What was a ghoul? Were they bad? Carma didn’t understand what they were talking about; was this some kind of adult talk? Either way, she wouldn’t let it get to her because she knew that her mother’s would be with her forever and ever.

As they walked down the streets, something occurred to Midori and she stopped them for a moment as she reached into her pocket to retrieve something,

“Wait up- I almost forgot that I got you a little present Carma,” The child’s eyes widened with curiosity as she peered at the object in her hands, “I was walking by a shop on the way to the park and saw this hair scrunchie and it reminded me of you.” It was a plain white scrunchie with a little Hawaii hibiscus flower on it.

“It’s cute!” The young pinkette exclaimed as Midori pulled back a small section of her hair and tied it in.

“Just as I thought, it suits you.”

“Yes, it is sweet,” Mei commented as she twisted some of her own pink hair between her fingers with a grin on her face, “what do you say darling?”

“Thanks’ Ma!”

“Anytime. Now let’s get going, I don’t know about you but I could totally eat something right about now.”

“There’s left overs.”

“Hey, it always tastes better the next day because the flavors marry and make a whole bunches of new flavors so that’s fine by me.”

“Midori…”

By this point, the sun was nearly gone but walking in the dark was never a scary thing, because Carma held onto each of their hands as they walked.

No monsters could get to her.

Unfortunately, that was the last time the family ever saw a sunset together.

The next day, Sunday, Mei suggested that they all go shopping together for some new clothes as she could note that by this point Carma was starting to out grow a few of her dresses and a couple pairs of shoes. While shopping was fun and all, waiting for her mothers to shop wasn’t as much fun.

In one of the sport stores, Mei could see that their child was starting to get a bit impatient as kids do, but thus far had behaved quite well and deserved a little treat to make it up to her. 

“Let’s stop for ice cream on the way home, how does that sound?”

After visiting the ice cream parlor, they began to walk home with all their heavy bags and goods that they’d purchased that day, just walking in front of the two adults, young Carma was fiddling with her new scrunchie as some of her hair was being pulled in an uncomfortable way.

“Carma you’re going to break it if you do that.”

“No I won’t- Ah!” Suddenly the scrunchie did come loose from her hair and was sent flying sideways like a slingshot! It didn’t break but it landed right in the middle of the road. Without thinking, the child busted out onto the heavy trafficked roadway in the core of Tokyo!

“CARMA!” both Midori and Mei dropped their bags and rushed out after her, though she didn’t even notice the panic going on around her as she retrieved her hair piece. 

“I-“ as soon as she turned around, a few meters in front of her were the bright headlights of a large semi truck coming directly at her! She didn’t even have a chance to move away before she felt herself get pushed out of the way as she tumbled back on the sidewalk. Then she heard a sound she could not describe.

Death.

“Oh my god!”

“Someone call and ambulance!”

“Is there a doctor?”

“Where’s the child?!”

“Blood!?”

Carma was still in shock from the sudden fall that she took a moment before lifting her head to look at all the people starting to surround the area and around her. What was…? Slowly, she arose from her place and glanced around at all the faces, as she looked fro her parents.

“Mama? Ma? Mama?” None of them responded to her as their focus was on the road ahead of them. Being too short to see, she had to wriggle her way through to see something that she wish she hadn’t. There on the road laid two bodies under the large semi truck with blood pooling out from under it. The hair pink and aqua. At first, Carma didn’t cry; she just stared. Eventually, help did arrive but by the time they did, there was no chance of saving Mei and Midori and were considered dead on scene and as for Carma, she too was taken away, watching as their bodies were lifted into stretchers and covered with sheets.

That’s when she started to cry.

What happened after that was a long and painful process. Because she had no immediate family to turn to she was being debated by services to either be sent to an orphanage or to a foster family.

She didn’t want either; she just wanted her mothers back.

“Does she have a father she can go to?”

“The father is unknown.”

“There must be someone we can contact.”

“No aunts or uncles. Her grandparents are also deceased.”

Back and fourth they would go and she would cry through it all. Though there was no one there to comfort her, she would often cry until she made herself ill. But still, no one cared.

It took a couple of years, but after living in an orphan edge she was finally sent to a household to live with a foster family. She lived with a man and two other boys who were just a bit older then she was; it was safe to say she already felt out of place before she even walked through the door. 

This house was just located on the other side of Tokyo and was closer to some of the rural areas. It was a smaller house but had a large front yard…though a little bare.

“She’s a little thing.” One of the boys said as he glanced over her, “What kind of hair is this? It’s the colour of shit-stopper!” she winced as he started to pull on some strands of her hair. 

“Hey stop that! Can’t you see she’s scared!” The other boy said as he slapped the hand away, though he was being more sarcastic “She’s been through enough!” now Carma can’t even remember their faces, but she was almost certain that they were twins.

Right now, all three of them were sitting in the middle of the living room floor as their guardian was making them something to eat. Though he didn’t really seem to care what was going on behind him.

When dinner was served, a plate of discolored meat was placed infront of her. No rice or bread. She took a bite of it and nearly spit it out as the texture was nothing like she’d even had before…but she was raised better then that and ate everything on her plate regardless. Perhaps it was horse or sheep.

Really…Men were brutes.

Often, to escape from the rough household inside, Carma would go out to the front yard and amuse herself by looking for worms in the dirt. With her own two hands she’d managed to dig a large patch in the sod and would pretend that she was running a worm farm. It may not have looked like a fun activity to most girls, but she enjoyed it. But one day, something strange happened to her.

As she was minding her own business and was putting some of her worms into a pile, a boy from the other side of the fence looked down over her with a peak of interest,  
“You know, those worms are better in the soil then out of it.”

A boy who looked about the same age as her foster brothers was crewing on a piece of straw between his lips and had a western hat that was far too big for him. His shoes were covered in dried up mud along with his lower pants and his shit sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. She nearly mistook him for a cowboy out of a TV show or something.

“Huh?”

“Worms. They make good fertilizer you know, add nutrients to the soil. So if you’re planning on making a garden there I suggest you let them wriggle back down.”

“Oh umm…they’re part of my worm farm.”

“A worm farm,” the boy scoffed, “Now that’s a new one on me.”

“…” She turned her head away in dismay, was it weird to make company from the only things she could find? Seeing that he made her upset, the boy quickly counter attacked,

“N-No sorry! I just never heard of anyone doing something like that! If one’s collecting worms, they’re fishin’!”

“T-They’re not fish food!” 

“I didn’t say they were…I uh…You see I work on a little farm outside the city and I know a’lotta things when it comes to the earth.” What was he going on about? A farm? What was a country boy doing here? Well at least it explained his clothes. Wiggling the piece of straw between his teeth, he looked as if he was pondering on what to do next, “I’m a…I’m Masaya Shimizu.”

“What?”

“My name! What’s yours?”

“Oh, Carma Kimura.”

“Well Kimura, let me say that you’ve been the most interesting thing about my day. You and your worm farm.”

“Why? What were you doing?”

“My big sis and me were bringing some of our stored away harvest to a few supermarkets. You know, the essentials. Have you ever had a farm fresh egg before?”  
Carma shook her head at the boy.

“Why there’s nothing like it! I’m telling you every time I collect eggs from the chickens I make sure to cook one that day. Hey, if you’d like I could bring some here if it’s alright with your ma and dad.”

Were they that good? Well anything would have been better then what she was being fed here...But she didn’t even have any parents to ask…and this was literally someone she just met.

“No thanks…and I think you should get away from here! If they saw you, you might get in trouble!”

“Why?”

“Because!”

“Why?”

“I said because!”

“Well all right! No need to shout…” And he obeyed her and left the property and as soon as he was out of sight, Carma took handfuls of dirt to cover up her worms. If they were best in the soil then she wouldn’t make them suffer out of it.

But that wasn’t the last time she saw Masaya. He returned again and again to say hello at least once a week. Then as years started to fly by he started to drop by more and more, he’d even purchased her some flower seeds and showed her how to properly plant them in her old ‘worm farm’. He was so annoying but at the same time, she enjoyed his company as he’d go on and on about his farm.

Masaya wasn’t a brute.

She even told him about her past and the death of her mothers…how she ended up with a harsh new ‘family’. He never judged her once.

Though with him on the other side of the fence it made it hard for them to really have a good talk.  
“Hey, want to maybe…. come out from the yard today. It’s hard to see you through these planks you know! People will think I’m talking to a fence!”

“I can’t...” Of course she could, she had every right opportunity to, but she was such an obedient child that she felt as if she was going to commit a sin if she stepped outside the boarder of the yard. But even above that was another reason.

“Shimizu-kun…Do you know anything about…Ghouls?”

“Ghouls…? You are a strange one. But yeah I know a few things…like how they look exactly like us humans but have these big weapons of sorts. I’ve seen them in pictures. Do they know how good they’d be at farming if not for their flesh craze?”

“Flesh?”

“Yeah…some scary stuff, huh?” Masaya looked to the side, a frown started to fight to take control of his lips, but he forced it away, “But if that’s what you’re afraid of…then, I’ll make sure no ghouls cross your path. I won’t even let you see them!”

“Really…?”

“Sure! I’m strong enough, after all I’ve got years of lifting already under my boot.”

“You’re 13…”

“Doesn’t matter! I’ll still make sure your safe even I my life depends on it. I might be rough on the edges but I’m a gentleman you know…” Quietly, he made his way to the entrance to the yard where the small gate and patiently extended his hand for her to go with him. Still she wanted to go…she wanted to escape this horrible place and if he would guide her then…She’d take his hand. Once she felt his hand against hers, she could already sense that they were string and overworked by the calluses and cracks but even then they were still nice.

Carefully, she walked out of the gate and onto the sidewalk of the street, her heart skipping a beat as if she was afraid that her foster father might catch her but reluctantly she was in the clear!

“See, you did it!”

“Yeah…I did, didn’t I?”

That day, Masaya bought her a ticket so that he could show her what a farm looked like up close. The wide space, the fields, and pastures; there were lots and lots of flowers though a bit untidy.

“My sis used to garden when she had the time,” Masaya said as he tried to lift up a drooping tulip head, “Now it’s all gone to this…But you’re more then welcome to garden here anytime you like! Maybe bring it back to its former glory.”  
The look on her face was almost priceless to him when he saw her light up in such a way. He’d never seen her smile like that before.

“You’d let me do that?”

“Sure as rain! I mean, you seem to have knack for it and besides…” A tint of blush covered his face and he had to dip his hat to try and hide it, “I think you deserve a nice big garden…”

“This is a farm fresh egg.” Masaya said as he carefully cracked one into a pan inside the small little cabin-like home, “I’m glad you’ll finally get to try it.”

“Me too! I’m looking foreword to your cooking.” Carma’s eyes glanced around the kitchen at all the photos and little tacky things. It was so cute, just like the books she used to read.

“Well anyone can fry an egg…I’m no cook.” He said as he carefully slid the eggs on a small plate and placed it in front of her. As soon as she picked up her fork and took the first bite, she was instantly brought to tears.

“S-sorry? Is my cooking really that bad? Oh no, I guess I put too much salt…”

“No..That’s not it.” She shook her head and as he looked into her tears he could swear he saw a tint of a rainbow, “This is the best thing I’ve eaten in years! Thank you for making it for me!”

\--

That night, when Carma returned home, Masaya made sure that she made it safely and walked her himself.  
“Thank you, really,” She said as she held onto a carton of eggs that she brought with her, “I know I’ve said it a lot…but I’m so grateful.”

“Of course. Maybe when you catch a break you can come out again.”

“I will!” and by the time she was making her way up the doorsteps of her house, she couldn’t help but turn back to him and assure him that she’d be okay. Tipping the top of his hat, he slowly made his way off the property.

When the pinkette walked inside, she placed the eggs on the counter only to see that her two foster brothers were still awake and they eyed her like a hawk eyes it’s prey. Those glares sent chills up her spine.

“Oh what’s this?” One of the brothers asked as he picked out one of the eggs, “Smells like shit!”

“It’s a fresh egg.” She said, trying her best to sound unaffected.

“Fresh?”

“Yeah. I got them right from a chicken.”

The brothers eyed one another as if thinking simultaneously, then the one brother tossed the egg at her having it break against her head!

“Hey-“ One egg after another was broken or thrown at her, she did her best to cover her face but they still managed to hit her, “STOP IT!”

“Alright.” They whipped the egg white on their pants, closing their eyes for a moment and in that moment everything was silent. However, when they opened their eyes again Carma felt like she was looking back at her early childhood; she was looking at death. The boy’s eyes were all back and seemingly bloodshot, veins grew up the side of their face and long weapons grew from the outside of their backs. She let out a scream so loud the heavens could hear her.

When she tried to turn and run for the door, she was blocked by her foster father who’d seemingly taken on the same form as the boys with his eyes and something coming out from his tailbone.

“It seems that you’re a bit…trapped here hmm? Had to find an outside source to amuse you.”  
Carma just kept on screaming as she now felt the brother’s behind her start to touch her arms with their strange muscle-like weapons, their tongues sticking out.

“She got eggs!”

“From someone!”

“Well that would make sense. She didn’t like eating her own kind I suppose…Carma, did you ever wonder why your food tasted odd? Well that’s because it wasn’t an animal.” When he pulled out a bag of unknown meat, she was quickly able to connect the dots of what was going on.

Oh god

She was-

SHE’D BEEN-  
Carma vomited on the floor and held onto her skull, pulling on her hair to the point where it might come out.

“Gross…” Said a brother,

“You know…we could have killed you when you were younger…but you were such a tiny thing you had nothing there to scavenge for. So I guess you can-“

“CARMA!” a loud crash and shards of glass came from the living room, Masaya had jumped through the window?!

“It’s him!”

“Farm boy!” But Masaya was quick, he was agile too and that was a surprise for his height, but as the ghouls tired to attack him, he managed to find an umbrella close by and fight off the ghouls as Carma sat there on the floor feeling as helpless as ever. But she couldn’t feel anything right now and if she tried to stand she might fall back down.  
He was quick to discard of the brothers, they were no real challenge for anyone, even the average human, but the father took a little more then he suspected,

“Why would you do this? You monsters don’t deserve to live!”

“Monster or not I’d rather not have a human kill me.” Then just like that, he finished Masaya’s work for him and fell dead at his feet.

\--

By the time it was all over, Masaya managed to get ahold of the Commission of Counter Ghoul, the organization that was in charge of dealing with Ghoul related cases. In the back of one of the trucks, Masaya comforted Carma the best he could…she really had been through a lot. As he sat there, a man in a white coat approached them and looked down on Masaya.

“Special Class investigator Kishou Arima,” He introduced, “The home has been cleared but…were you the one who managed to beat 3 ghouls…with an umbrella?”

“Y-Yes sir.”

“…” Arima said nothing else and looked as if he wasn’t impressed, but the way he held the brief case showed something else.

“M-Masaya…” Carma whispered through her stutters, “I…”

“No. Don’t you say it Carma! You’re not a monster! You didn’t know what you were doing, you’re innocent!”

“But I…”

“I don’t care…I still love you.”

Eventually with no where else to go again, Carma found herself living with Masaya and his sister for the next few years and became accustomed to the farm life outside of Tokyo. There she had eggs everyday if she so desired and was homeschooled by his sister in the evenings. She even had time to work on the garden. Even if they were still too young to get married, Masaya and Carma got engaged and planned to wed once they were old enough.

But something happened that left Carma alone again.  
One morning she awoke to find that Masaya had gone missing.

No one could find him, not the police, not the CCG, no one. It was assumed to be a ghoul case…

Monsters.

Monsters.

 **Monsters**.

She’d never recovered from the loss of her mothers, but she knew for certain that she’d never recover from Masaya either. She could avenge by beating a truck…but she could get rid of ghouls.

\--

Why were these memories coming back now? She was dead too right? But she didn’t see anyone…just darkness. But these thoughts started to stimulate something with in her, as if she had truly been reminded as to why the world was so messed up.

‘I have to fix it.’

Forcing herself, Carma somehow managed to create enough energy and strength to unleash herself from the stomach that she fell into, ripping Madam to smithereens.

“Carma!” Michiko hollered, “Car-“

“Stay back!” Juuzou ordered as the rest of his squad filed around, “Take one good look at her Ayase, you go in there she might mistaken you for someone else.” No one had ever seen Carma act so violently before, they never suspected she had it in her, but there she was, single handedly killing the Madam with her own will as she cried out for mercy. And yet, everyone stayed clear of her.

“I’ve never seen anything like it…” Mizurou stood directly in front of Michiko, this time he would not let her pass because what he saw in front of him, was anything but the shy, innocent girl he was told she was, instead he saw a reaper. But… when he glanced over at his own squad leader he could see that somewhere deep down this was bothering him and he wished he could do something to help. But if Juuzou wasn’t going to react, then neither would he. Hanbee placed a hand on Juuzou’s shoulder and sighed as they watched Carma finally finish off the ghoul, tears running down her face and her Bikaku throbbing as if is was hungry for more impact…but there was nothing left as she began to cry over the corpse.

“Suzuya-senpai…should we call for clean up?”


	8. Say Say Say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is full of fluff and foreshadowing-
> 
> I'm sorry that this chapter isn't really to action packed but I assure you that it's important for later down the line.
> 
> Thank you and happy reading~!

A few weeks after the Auction Raid things seemed to have changed for everyone in one way or another. Not just in how they were now treating Carma, but also how things were between Michiko and her squad. She’d been avoiding them, more so Carma, afraid that she may act on her as she did on the Madam. Because of this instability, Carma had been in and out of the office unpredictably.

On that note, because Carma was the one who ended up truly defeating her, she was honored with receiving her first quinque though it was still in production.

For now there are more matters that Koharu Ui needed to focus on then to congratulate her subordinate on her accomplishment or have constant surveillance. That was that Koori Ui had called her back for another chat, only this time to finally get to the point.

“Alright Koori-bro, what’s up?” Of course the rumor had been around for weeks, but it was never officially mentioned to her only just by the gossip of Hairu who over heard her partner mention it briefly.

In the hallway, Ui was now itching for a smoke as he always did when unsettled, but that would just be a distraction like last time…but he had to thank that conversation as he and Hairu might not be together if not for his sister’s whining. Though he still hadn’t told her that Hairu and him were together now; there was always something to add to the to-do list. Now leaned against the wall, Ui folded his arms over his chest and let out a quiet sigh as he glanced over at Koharu who was already giving him a glare as to ‘get on with it’.

“I heard that your two squad members did well in the last mission. I even got to speak with one of them when we were called in after the other-“

“Use their names. I can’t tell who you’re talking about…”

Her brother clicked his tongue in annoyance, but obeyed her anyways,

“Alright. I spoke with Ayase after we discovered Kimura and the corpse….She said that this was their first go at a mission and that Kimura was nearly eaten whole by the ghoul and somehow managed to break free.” He wouldn’t say it to her face, but Ui was impressed to see who his sister was training. Not many new field agents kill a SS ghoul on their first run, “If the other members of your squad performs as well as those two did then they have a bright future ahead of them.”  
Even if they are unethical

His little sister’s eyes widened, it wasn’t direct but she considered it like a compliment since he doesn’t give them out easily.

“Anyways…Koharu, I’m going to get straight to the point. I’m requesting that you and your squad join me and the other investigators on the Rose operation in the spring.”

As soon as she heard the words come out of his mouth, she felt like a weight had been lifted…and replaced with something much heavier. At long last he’d asked her and it was no longer a rumor; this was the real thing, he thought she was finally good enough to join him. But of course, she had to act like she never suspected anything like this…too bad she was never a good actor.

“R-Really? You think I’m ready?” When it came out, she sounded more like she was trying not to laugh and her smile wasn’t helping her situation as her brother started to look down on her,

“This is serious! Wipe that-“

“I am being serious!” she retorted, almost cornering him against the wall like a yapping puppy, “Do you really believe I’d joke about something like that-?! Do you really think I’m ready to join you on such a high class mission?” and like a puppy, he patted her on the head to calm her down a bit and to give him some room. 

“I think you are, yes. To be honest I was pondering on the idea for a while you know but…I think what your two friends performed the other week was my solidification…But it really was your own hard work that paid off.” a smile tugged at his lips as he glanced at his little sister…well they were almost equal height now. If only she knew how hard it really was for him to come to this conclusion to let her join him in on this…it just meant she was going to be knocking on death’s door again…but the door will be unlocked.

“That makes me glad you know, my own hard work.” She chewed on those words like gum in her mouth as her cheeks started to flush.

Her own hard work…no money involved.

But her moment was short lived as her brother started to shake back into his usual demeanor.

“Alright now that that’s out of the way, time for you to attend the first meeting.”

“Huh? Already? Just me?”

“Yes, your friends can sit this one out. You might be under me on this but you’ll need to attend every meeting. After all, I’m leading this operation and I expect no slacking…especially from you.”

Sometimes she wanted to play the mom card on him…but even as children she never had the chance.

“You have no mercy…”

“Nope. Now come on.”

Oh well…one meeting. It would only last an hour or two right?

She could take down ghouls therefore she could handle a meeting.

\--

 

“Brooke!” Kitami called as she waddled over to her squad mate’s desk holding her laptop, “I think I broke it again.”

“Again?” the brunette swerved her chair around and lifted up her glasses to see what she was talking about. Motioning her to hand her over the computer, Brooke took it into her hands and began to observe it,

“Uh oh, Broke is it Brooke? I mean…Brooke is it broke? Broken?” Shio fumbled, laughing at his mix up and glanced over the desk to see what was wrong with the laptop. This actually happened quite often, Kitami was never good with technology and often ended up pressing the wrong buttons, sending things she shouldn’t, etc. She even preferred a flip phone to a smart phone for simplicities sake. But that’s what happens when you were isolated from the world for so long.

Luckily Brooke was able to solve this problem quickly,

“Relax Kitami, the screen froze…just reset it.” Brooke sighed as she handed the laptop back and stuck a lollipop in her mouth, wanting to continue the ‘go-fish-game’ against Rikai.

“Umm…Brooke?”

“What?!”

“How do I do that again?”

“Ugh! It’s not that hard- Yusa you show her!” the brunette slammed her hand on the table as she reached to grab another card…only to see that Rikai had already won, “DAMIT!”

Well it seemed like Yusa had another opportunity to make a quick conversation with Kitami at least, even if it was about how to turn off a laptop. Turning to her, he reached out his hands for her to hand him the computer,  
“Here, I’ll show you-“ but just as she was going to place it, their hands briefly touched making the boy fumble back and drop the laptop on the ground with a loud crash. The screen was pulled back and most likely snapped, there were cracks and a few key’s popped out; he could fight ghouls but not hold a laptop under pressure. Yusa could easily feel the tips of his ears burn and eventually the rest of his face but this time it was from embarrassment, not being twitterpated.

“Yusa…” Rikai got up from her seat to glance at the now broken laptop and to see that her friend was now looking at his own feet. Kitami then started at the laptop, her face scrunching and then turning into an array of laughter! No one knew what was so funny about this situation but Yusa was certain she was laughing at him…though in honestly he expected to get yelled at.

“Huh?” Hirako and Arima, who just happened to be walking by at the time, popped their heads in the room to see a very obscure scene indeed, “What’s going on?”  
Yusa tightened his fists, if this wasn’t bad enough now Hirako and Arima would scold him right in front of Kitami. This really couldn’t get any worse.

“Kitami…you do realize that laptop…was worth-“ Brooke began but was instantly interrupted,

“Oh I don’t care about how much it’s worth! Technology hates me no matter what, I think this proves it…Gosh it’s funny,” just by hearing her say that the brunette nearly wanted to cry. But as the blonde wiped a tear from her eye, she glanced over at the boy beside her who was keeping his face away from her, as Hirako was about to assume the situation.

“Wait- Yusa, you don’t think this was your mistake do you?”

“I dropped it…” He muttered, “It fell through my hands.” _Like butter…probably sweat._

“Well. I thank you for that then.”

“What?!” Everyone in the room all had their eyes on her, how could she say that with a straight face? She was okay with having her laptop broken? The dark haired boy turned to her, his face full of confusion and distress but she was quick to reassure him.

“Like I said, I’m terrible with these…these robots! I much prefer doing my work on paper, no buttons or ads, no interrupting surveys, no nothing; just the assignment. So Yusa, you’ve given me an excuse to use pen and paper and any time I get to do that I’m as happy as well…a happy person.” Her beaming smile was enough for him right then, she looked like an angel; an angel with ribbons.

“Miss Kitami, you do know you can’t do all your work on paper. The CCG is nearly all converted to digital files…” Arima spoke as he lifted up what was the laptop, it’s screen swinging as he did so. But she continued to smile anyways,

“I know! But I still prefer pen on paper. Sometimes it’s just a more reliable source.”  
Brooke scoffed at her friend’s come back,

“Whatever you say grandma, but I hate wasting time going through filing cabinets…why go on a goose chase when you can type in keywords and find your source in seconds?”

The blonde shrugged and looked back at Yusa who was now gazing off to the side, perhaps he still felt bad about what had happened but really she wasn’t upset,  
“It’s okay…really.” She whispered and gave him a playful nudge before she went over to assist Arima and Hirako in cleaning up the little pieces that smashed on the floor. Once again, Yusa was left hanging in this one-sided crush, but as per usual Shio came over to him to put in his little comment.

“Hey, you should take her to get a coffee!”

“Shio…”

“No seriously,” Was he being serious though? “Maybe later you should just treat her to a coffee as a way to apologize.”

But wouldn’t it be weird since she didn’t see him that way? But then again Shio had a point…perhaps this could be a way to show how sorry he was. A coffee couldn’t hurt.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Right! I’ll let Hirako know later that you…that you’re staying with a friend. I’ll let Rikai in on it too!”

“You’re a good friend Shio…”

“As your wingman it’s my job! I won’t give up on you till Kitami’s got those heart eyes for you! Operation Yusa and Kitami has now begun!”

“Keep it down would’ya?”

Really, the quick plan of two teenage boys would certainly bring some mixed results,

\--

Of course, finding the time to ask was the hard part about the idea and even harder to find a moment where he could ask and no one else was around to over hear. There always seemed to be someone around Kitami either it be one of the Beta members or another investigator. He was starting to realize just how difficult asking out- or asking a girl to have coffee was. But because she didn’t have a laptop to submit her reports and forms, she was busy trying to get everything done by hand and was much farther behind then she usually would be, but as Yusa glanced at her papers a few times, he could easily see just how beautiful her kanji was. But as the day went on and more and more people began to trickle out and go home, Yusa Arima finally had his opportunity when the only people in the office remaining were Shio, Rikai, Michiko, and Brooke. Though by now, Brooke and Michiko looked as if they were on their final legs for the day as well as Brooke let out a long yawn and stretch,

“Well I’m beat. I think I’ll call it a day,” She said as she closed up her computer, “Besides, I’m hanging out with Shirazu tonight.”

“Why’s that?” Asked Michiko raising a brow,

“He’s taking me to a late-night motorcycle show. Apparently Saiko’s under the weather and he didn’t want to waist a ticket.” It was a close regarded secret that Saiko and Shirazu had been seeing each other in romantic terms, but that secret had made its way around more then they had expected. Whoever started the rumor was still to be found out but at least the two in question didn’t suspect that anyone knew.

“I didn’t know you cared about motorcycles.” Kitami only glanced up from her work for a moment with some strands of her hair were starting to come loose from her low twin-tails, “You never speak about it anyways.”

“Are you kidding me!? I love motorcycles! After that time I took…a ride on Shirazu’s I’ve wanted one of my own. But…I can’t really afford one of my own and Shirazu broke his…so we’re both broke going to look at motorcycles we can’t afford!”  
“Sounds more like torture to me…Why look at something you know you can’t buy?” Michiko said as rose up from her seat to fetch her coat, “You leaving too Kitami?”

“No, I have a few more papers I need to fill out.”  
“Oh…”

“Is something wrong?”

“No…I just,” Michiko wasn’t keen on going back to the house alone to be with Carma. With no one there as witnesses, what if that pinkette killed her in her sleep, butchered her like she did to the Madam, and hid her body in the woods?! No…that wouldn’t happen, she’d fight back with ease but still…If Koharu was still in a meeting, Brooke was gallivanting and Kitami was still at work…perhaps Michiko should find something to do as well. Maybe Mizurou was free.

Now with everyone gone but the 0 squad kids and Kitami, Yusa finally sucked in his breath to hopefully make himself look a little taller and with 4:00 am courage finally asked,

“Hey um, Kitami?”

“Hmm?”

“When you finish, did you want to maybe go and get a coffee or something? I’ll buy!”

For a moment, the young woman looked slightly confused by the gesture and turned her body towards him, 

“Whatever for?”

“I…I want to…” His eyes started to dart around instead of looking into her twinkling brown one’s, Yusa couldn’t find the right words to say so being desperate looked towards Rikai and Shio who kept motioning to continue, “I can’t afford to buy you a new laptop and I know that was my mistake no matter what you say…so at least let me buy you something.” For a moment, there was silence and Shio was leaning so far over his seat he nearly fell off from the suspense. After all, this was technically the first step. But soon, she was smiling like she was before; the big smile that made him feel like he was staring at an angel.

“A coffee? Well…that’s really sweet of you, a gentleman really. Alright, if it will make you feel better I guess I could go with you.” Then she glanced over at the other teens, “What about you two? You coming?”

“Nah, we’ll head on home. We’ll let Hirako know that he’s with you.”

“Alright, well…Let me finish up and then we can go, ‘kay?” Then she got back to work on that beautiful kanji and for the first time in a while, Yusa felt himself smiling.

“Well good luck kids, be back by ten!” Shio called as the two made their way out of the building and down the street. Him and Rikai had to stay in the building till Hirako finished but now their job for the next hour or so was to figure out how exactly they were going to keep Yusa’s indirect-date a cover up.

“Oh, it doesn’t feel like late November…feels like January.” Kitami said as she rubbed her hands together, it was even cold enough for them to see their breath crystalize, “You’re sure you’re okay to be out this late?”

Did she see him as a little kid? If that were the case then he’d have to man up because he was too stressed about this to blow this off as a fault!

“Of course I’m fine! I stay up late and train anyways.”

“Really? Wow that’s dedication, I can’t stay up this late to do anything but watch movies…but I guess I used to work into the late hours when I was a kid.”  
He gapped at her for a moment.

“Why?”

“Oh! Did I never tell you that story? I used to live on a small farm as a kiddo. Often during the later months I’d have to help harvest and prep our small garden for the winter. It was laborious but nothing’s like homegrown food, it’s cheaper too! I look at the prices of apples and it makes me laugh. Then again, it’s not easy to grow them.” As she went on and on about her past, for a split second Yusa felt as if he was finally having a taste of it as well, a taste of a peaceful childhood.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

“Everyone calls you Kitami…I’ve seen you refer to all your friends by their first names but no one ever uses yours...” The blonde had to admit she was taken off guard by the question as no one had ever really brought it up to her attention before. Her friends knew the reason but of course they were the only one’s who did. 

“I have my reasons…”

“Oh.”  
He wasn’t going to pressure her or force it out; it's not like she was a past criminal or anything so if she didn’t want to tell him then he’d respect that. But in a way he was kind of hoping to know something that most didn’t…a way for them to have some kind of bond. However she was quick to smile again,

“But I guess I could tell you one reason…I actually…really hate my name.”

“Hate your name? Is it bad or weird?”

“Embarrassing is more the word. I don’t know why but I’ve always thought it was such…It never suited me, like I was named after a store or something like that.”

Yusa smiled as his teenage mind decided it might be fun to edge it out of her a bit,

“Well I won’t judge…what is it?”

“Hey I gave you a freebie already!”

“What is it?”

“No-!”

“Please?”

The blonde laughed and started to run down the side walk through the crowd of late evening Tokyo and though he usually wouldn’t do this, he couldn’t help but be pulled into the fun and started to chase and call after her, a smile on his face the entire time. Though the people who glanced at them thought they were nothing but troublesome didn’t affect him because right now, he felt like he was finally doing something normal…at least he wasn’t chasing down ghouls…no, for now he was in the outside world.

When Kitami finally gave out and slowed down so that they could catch their breath she spoke again,

“Marie.”

“Huh?”

“My first name is Marie.” His cheeks started to grow pink as she said it a second time, clearly she didn’t like to say it but to him he didn’t think there was anything wrong with her name.

“That’s your name? Why don’t you like it?” He asked as he rubbed the back of his neck, “I think it sounds fancy…So-Sophisticated.”

“That’s why I don’t like it, it doesn’t suit me at all. I’m not sophisticated, I’m clumsy and I don’t care for many fancy things other then my ribbons…I don’t know why I was given the name really…I hate it.” Kitami rubbed her hands together and her face dropped as she looked down at the concrete under her.

_But it’s a pretty name…_

This was one of those moments where fast reflexes couldn’t help him and he couldn’t look towards Rikai or Shio this time. He was on his own for now…but he didn’t know what to say.

“I like it…“

“You don't have to be nice you know...Well, how about that coffee huh? Come on, I’m sure that café Koharu talks about is close by.” She still seemed to be sad or at least unsettled, but Yusa wasn’t going to push it just yet…after all she was still technically his senpai.

“Okay.”

\--

“Your hair is growing.” Kanae said as she sat at her usual spot in the :re café at the bar stool up at the counter. Ryoichi and Touka were busy cleaning some of the cups after the late hours they didn’t suspect many more people would be coming in for the day. But it was true, Ryoichi’s bright red hair had indeed grown so that it was now starting to cover part of his face bit by bit; he looked like a completely different person form when he first arrived at :re.

“Yeah, but it’s no big deal.”

“You should cut it, you’ll look like a thug at this rate.” Touka said as she placed some cups on the shelf but Kanae only sighed,

“I tried telling him that but he said he likes it that length! I’m about ready to cut it myself!”

“I do like it this length.” He said as glanced at his reflection in the cup he was cleaning, “I think I look good…not to mention the doves will have a harder time recognizing me.”

“Don’t be so cocky,” the purplette said as she sipped on her own coffee, “The doves find ways…I’d still keep low whatever you do.”  
Still Ryoichi couldn’t help but laugh,

“You’re like my mother- stop!”

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING YOUR MOTHER!?” but even she couldn’t deny that she did care for him in some ways…maybe her material instincts were trying to get the better of her. But whenever she looked at him, she saw a lost child…much like how she used to be.

Suddenly the door above the café rang and two people walked inside, a raven-haired boy and a woman who Ryoichi could easily recognize; that platinum blonde hair was the give away!

“Touka-“ he whispered and instantly she was able to catch on and went to attend to the two customers while he stayed at the counter as the woman might be able to recognize Ryo as well, though with that hair probably not.

\--

“Really…my brother has no sympathy for me anymore.” Koharu groaned as she stepped outside the office, “I didn’t think it would 5 hours…” With that in mind, she thought that she deserved some coffee at this point and decided she would treat herself to a fancy coffee at :re and perhaps a melon bun…she normally didn’t like them but right now she needed something to make her feel alive.

When she finally did make it to the café, she just missed Yusa and Kitami as they already left by the time she arrived. She was the only one in there besides someone else at the counter bar.

“Ah, it’s you.” She noted to the read headed served working behind the counter who took a moment to remember her.

“Ah good to see you back,” He said as he offered her a seat at the counter to which she obliged.

“I’ll have a black coffee and a melon bun please.” She said, “After my day I could use it.”

“Coming right up.” he then prepped the brewer again and followed the pattern that Touka had taught him since day one to create the perfect cup.

Once the steaming cup and side plate with her treat was placed in front of her, Koharu could already feel herself wanting to gag at the sugar that was probably in the one bun. Yet she began to eat it anyways, only half though. But at least the coffee was able to wash it down and balance the sweetness to its natural bitter flavor.

Kanae grunted as she saw her waist the food like it was no big deal. If she were able to eat it she would have devoured it.

“You’re awfully young to be in an office,” Ryoichi said before catching himself, “I mean, you must be very smart and dedicated! Are you not an office lady-?”  
Of course, those comments didn’t hit well with Koharu, especially not at this hour after a long meeting that her brother forced her into listening to. Did she not look the part? Did she look that snobbish that she might have paid for her rank? A disgrace!

“I might be young but I can assure you mister that I got my job all on my own!”

“Well…I assumed you did-“

“And I’ll have you know, I did it without daddy’s investment! ME it was all ME!”

From the side, Kanae just sipped her cup and watched the quarrel unfold in front of her. Really Ryoichi seemed cool but he was such a tender soul that she thought he might cry.

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you-“

“No this Dummkopf is just trying to tell you he’s impressed. Nothing more.”

Oh. She completely misread that; he was giving her a compliment. Sighing she put a hand to her head and leaned over the side of the counter,  
“I’m sorry...I’m really not thinking anymore today…”

“It’s fine…I’m the…Dummkopf….” They shared a quick laugh at their stupidity and then he lowered his head to her, “I’m…I’m Ryo.” He gave out his nickname to her, there’s no way he could give out his full name. But he’d seen this girl before and this time he wanted to make note of himself…though it came out by mistake and he could already feel Kanae eyeing him again.

“Ryo? Just Ryo?” She then lowered her own head to him in the same way, “I’m Koharu Ui.”

“Ui-chan…can I call you that?”

“No.”

“Cool, well then let’s start again. I’m impressed that you’re a professional office lady.”

“That’s not starting over. That’s retreating back 20 steps and falling over a cliff.”

He was terrible with words, mostly with people he knew had some type of...fondness for. He didn’t even know her yet he thought that for a human, she was okay.  
She was terrible for finding the hidden meaning in words. Sometimes she’d just assume too quickly before seeing the real insight.  
With those two flaws going back and fourth, it took them right till closing time just to make a short conversation.

But really, the best friendships do start in the oddest ways.

On the way home, Koharu couldn’t help but reach into her pocket in search of a cigarette; after the day she had she figured having just one wouldn’t be so bad.

“Just what the doctor ordered.” She chuckled as she pulled out a box that was still unopened and a new lighter she’d purchased that morning, “…maybe I should stay home this weekend.”


	9. Down Under

It didn’t take long for the word of the upcoming Rose Operation to get around the CCG and how Koori Ui has requested the Qunix and Beta to take part. Though while it wasn’t around terms of excitement but more for rush of preparations-even months in advance. Naturally, that operation wasn’t Beta’s only concern for the moment, as they still had to attend to their own set of small missions; most that took place at night.

For now, one of their set missions was set underground in the subway system beneath the city of Tokyo where the five were sent to check out a suspected hideaway, more or less to their distaste. They were told to go down the track line to an abandoned circuit where people had reported sightings of a man bringing unknown boxes.

“Ugh…So we get assigned to a top-notch operation and yet they still make us work down here…” Michiko nearly screamed when she spotted a small group of mice run back inside their hole in the wall when she shun her flash light on them, “You’d think we’d have more respect now.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t think that at all…” Brooke replied she took off her white jacket from the weight of it, “After all, we’re still considered newbies in the long term, the only thing we’ve got right now is our artificial kagunes…But that’s more then enough for me to send these beasts to their grave.”

“I agree but…I’d much prefer doing it up there.”

“We can’t whine Michiko,” Koharu interrupted from the front of the group as she held her flash light down the track as they were nearing their entrance to the abandoned turn off, “If it’s one thing I’ve learned from being here, it’s that sometimes you need to bend over and do the dirty work to get on people’s good sides…If you want to get up the ladder you have to-“

“If I want to get up the ladder I’ll just kick butt! I’m not kissing any Special Class ass!” the brunette laughed as she took off her glasses and revealed that one of her eyes had already become ghoulish.

“I agree with Brooke, we won’t get anywhere if we sit around picking up garbage-“

“That’s enough you two!” These two were hard to stop once they got started, but Koharu had to keep a cool head and with Brooke and Michiko complaining it was hard to keep low, “Now, let’s just inspect and get out as fast as we can…alright?”

“Fine…” Brooke’s eye faded back to its original icy blue hue and her glasses were slid back onto her face. Michiko just stuck her nose in the air trying to fight the guilty feeling of being yelled at.

The group started to walk down the old rails, the track becoming very tight and narrow and the deeper they went the smell started to become worse as well, almost like a mix of mold and blood.

However, this time would be different as now one of the girls had something new to assist their side of a fight. Carma had given her new quinque the name ‘ _Malice_ ’ , the only remaining thing of the ghoul she defeated a little while ago Carma’s quinque had been completed just a week before but she hadn’t used it yet. So it sat there restlessly inside the briefcase that she carried with her down the tunnel, her knuckles turning white as they went father inside. But still, she said nothing as she walked at the back of the pack.

“You know,” Kitami, piped up as she raced up to Koharu’s side, a smile on her face, “This isn’t so bad…I mean, we’re here together right?”

“Don’t say things like that…you sound like a dork.” Brooke scoffed from behind,

“But she’s right,” Koharu defended, “It is better now that we’re all together. You know back when we were in that room watching the raid…I never felt more useless in my life. I joined the CCG to be useful, to be someone who made a difference…not to sit around and wait for death certificates. So in a way, I’m okay with being down here with all of you, because at least we’re all doing something to make a difference.”  
“Now you sound typical.” Michiko added only to receive a glare form her squad leader, though the dim light of their flash lights made her look that much more grim. What was with her friends today? Didn’t they realize they were starting to sound like bratty children?

“Carma, can you come up with me? You’re the only one who’s not bugging me right now.”

“Yes.”

“What about me…?” Kitami puffed out her cheeks in a pout as she was pushed to the back of the line now. She hated when they did that, treating her like she did something wrong. No way she was going to stay the caboose, no…she’d get the first kill! Grinning, she started to jog at a slow pace and eventually started to run right past Koharu and the others, laughing all the way down the track making train sounds.

“K-KITAMI! Wait for the group!” Her squad leader called but she was around a corner, her laughter bouncing off the walls and back to them in an array of echoes.

“Well if Kitami’s getting a head start, then I won’t be far behind…I won’t lose to a ditz!” Then Brooke transformed into her half ghoul form into an instant and placed her glasses on her head like as if they were sunglasses; of course with her Ukaku form she was quick to catch up and leave the three others in the dust.

“THOSE IDIOTS! I swear whatever I say goes in one ear and out the other! Quick, we’ve got to catch up!” This was one of those moments where Koharu actually considered buying harnesses to reign in her team.

“See you Kitami!” Brooke shouted as she sprinted right past her friend, her wings of water acting as her light in the tunnel as she spiraled up and around and around and around the loops like a roller coaster. Though it took her a moment to notice that Kitami hadn’t even transformed yet…how was she able to run so fast and without a flashlight to see where she was going? “Hey, what gives? How are you- You’re not this quick in training!”

The blonde just laughed and soon she too transformed into her half ghoul self, her 9-tail Rinkaku sprouting out like weeds,

“That’s easy,” She said, “I eat lots of carrots.”

\--

These tracks were anything to be desired, but at least he was out of the cell.

That they were out of their cells.

_**Dark** _

_****_

_****_

Dank

****

**_And Dreary_ **

…Maybe they were the same.

“Onii-chan, I’m hungry.” A small child looked up at him from his lap, though while he looked sad, he had no tears. He probably dried out of tears long ago; that’s what Masaya assumed. Next to him, a set of twins and an older child sat leaning against Masaya, sleeping. It was a miracle that they were here…but this was a useless miracle indeed. What good was a miracle if t couldn’t give them a decent meal and a real roof over their heads? In the child’s arms was a small black kitten that was on death road as well. Rubbing the child’s head, Masaya could only smile,

“I know…Just rest for now.” If only these children were humans…then he could take them to an orphan edge…but they weren’t so he’d watch over them for now, “I’ll go looking for food tomorrow.”

The eldest child, a girl, woke from her slumber and glanced down the track way as if trying to look at something, soon the boy and the twins did the same and Masaya was sure that their breathing had stopped as it was dead quiet in there…but soon he too was able to pick up the sound of voices coming down their way.

“Run.” He said,

“Onii-“

“Run! Run down that way and don’t stop! I’ll meet you at the end!” The children looked stunned by his request and he didn’t blame them. They didn’t want to be alone again and even though they didn’t know exactly who was making their way down the abandoned tracks, they were in too risky of a position to stay and find out. He broke them out…he wasn’t going to have them killed or captured again. Finally, the girl grabbed the twin’s hands and they started to run down the tracks in the opposite direction as instructed but the boy stayed behind much to Masaya’s distress,

“GO!”

But instead, Masaya felt the sudden force of a something pushing him back and had no time to react before the voice told him to run,

“Doves! Take the kid and go!” A woman in a rabbit mask and a man with a distorted mask stood over him and he listened to them without question and grabbed the little boy and ran in the direction of where the kids went, leaving whatever was to come to these people…it didn’t make sense but with a hungry mind came a cowardice conscience.

\--

Still in the lead, Kitami and Brooke played a ‘tag-like’ game down the tunnel, shouting and laughing all the way until Kitami noticed a group of ghouls blocking part of the tunnel. **Fun’s over!**

“UH Brooke. I think we have company.”

“Well Fuck. Oh well we expected this.” Brooke was already rolling up her sleeves when the ghoul with the rabbit mask said,

“Leave.” She had her Ukaku blazing behind her, though she made no move to approach the two investigators and neither did her companions. Still the two of them took this as some type of trap.

“Are you the ghouls who’ve been living under here?” Kitami asked though Brooke quickly shut her down,

“Don’t ask stupid questions like that Kitami!”

“But…when we looked at the file earlier it said that there had been children spotted coming down here. I don’t see any children.”

“Children or not, we still have to kill them, they’re ghouls! Now come on, we can take down a couple before Koharu and the other’s get here.”

“Please turn back. Leave!” The rabbit spoke again but this time her wings seemed to only grow in size as if preparing to attack at any moment yet she still held back, “You have no right to be down here.”

“What a joke, hey Kitami? Listen to how they’re telling us humans that we have no right to be here. I swear ghouls are like the mosquitos that find their way into my room even though all my windows are shut! Lucky for me I’m usually able to kill those greedy suckers before they take off with a full belly of my blood. I can easily do the same thing to you-“ and just like that, part of the ghoul’s kagune shot and precisely shot right through the lenses on Brooke’s glasses that were still perched on the top of her head. Bulls-eye! It just skimmed past her scalp, “My glasses!”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” and just like that, the ghouls started to attack the two investigators head on and this was no easy situation for either side.

Ryoichi knew who these two were, he’d remembered them from the night they chased him out of Aogiri and took part of his own Kagune off! One was on the motorcycle and the other was the one who clipped his wing. They stripped him of something that he both hated and depended on. He’d grown stronger since then and now he’d make them pay. His first target was on Kitami as Brooke was already crowded out by some of the others, but as soon as he spread his wings and prepared to attack…but something stopped him. Nothing was working to get his kagune to attack; he couldn’t get it to fight, he could hardly move it!

“What’s wrong with my-“ It was if they had been stripped completely of their ammo, the shards that usually flew off were gone, all that was left was a thin sheet that looked similar to a bats wings-no-a moth’s. With an Ukaku that could no longer function, it shed itself like a snake skin leaving behind only the bare minimum of itself with holes throughout that looked chewed and ripped on. But just by taking time to peak at them, he left himself vulnerable letting the blond investigator attack him from his side sending him directly into the concert wall, the force so intense it caved in, “ARGH…!”

“RY- Takeo!” he heard Touka call as she attempted to help, but was already too preoccupied with the brunette to leave as assist him. Luckily though, he wasn’t too injured but was still winded from the impact, “They brought back-up!” and in moments, Ryoichi witnessed the death of people he actually saw as his allies.

Then a feeling came over him that he was all too familiar with.

Darkness.

When Koharu and the other’s arrived they saw both of their teammates already engaged in battle leaving them no choice but fight along side them. But with the few bodies that were starting to pile up it seemed like they had a hold on things before they caught up.

“Alright, you all know what to do.”

“Let’s make it swift,” Michiko grinned as she and her squad leader jumped right in along side the other two with ease, Carma though was one step ahead as she was already starting to slice off limbs and heads before any of the ghouls could even lay a finger on her.

 

Right

Left _Gah!_

Left

Right _NO!_

Left

 

Not many of her victims had time to scream or plead.

She did so without an expression on her face, as if she were doing it automatically without realizing what exactly she was doing. But still, she dared not to open her quinque and instead continued to just use her Kagune. All her friends fought along side her, but still just for a moment both ghouls and humans watched in both amazement and horror. Finally once Brooke was able to put the Rabbit on hold by pinning her to the ground by her own icy shards, she tried to approach Carma,

“Carma, girl, slow down a little- Fuck!“ But as soon as she started to speak, her friend’s black eye shot in her direction and she instantly pounced on her sending her back. She nearly chopped off Brooke’s head too if it wasn’t for Koharu who pushed her off the brunette and pinned her to the floor by her own Rinkaku.

“Carma! What are you doing!? You never EVER attack a team mate like that!” She could feel the pinkette struggling under her but it was only then that Koharu noticed all the blood on her friend’s fingers as it started to drip onto her own...It looked wrong to see it on such a tender soul…But right now it didn’t seem to suit her well. Eventually, Carma resisted and fell back to the floor with her kagune retreating back into her body and her eye going back to normal too, when she saw that now everyone was staring down at her, she gave them a smile.

“I got lots today…did you see?”

By this point, Koharu decided that it would be best to retreat for now as it was clear that Carma wasn’t right in the head and that Brooke and Kitami were pretty injured from the head on battle earlier as many of their wounds were taking more time to heal then usual.

Not to mention that Brooke was nearly killed by her friend.

They’d certainly be getting an earful that night. But as she glanced up at the tracks again Koharu noticed that there were still two ghouls left undefeated, the mystery man and the Rabbit. Both seemed to be alive but unconscious.  
The smart investigator would have finished them off but Koharu just didn’t have the effort to do so and she knew that her responsibility right now was to ensure that her squad was cared for. Those monsters should be considering this a lucky day.

“Come on, Let’s head back.”

“But what about-“

“They’re dead. Now I said let’s go.” She knew that her squad suspected that she was sparing those ghoul’s lives, but in Koharu’s mind they were as good as dead down here anyways. If the CCG were to find out she just did this they’d have her head for it…never mind the CCG her brother would have it!

Koharu and Michiko helped Carma to her feet and gave her some support as the five investigators left the abandoned train tunnel with both the pride of a win and the sorrow of a defeat.

\--

Ryoichi wasn’t sure how long he’d been sleeping for, he couldn’t tell if it was morning already or even the next day as the tunnel was just as dark as before. Taking off his mask with a groan, he looked around and slowly sat up from his spot as he tried his best to remember how exactly he ended up there. Oh that’s right…that blond got him…his kagune…

“Touka…?” He spotted her out cold as she was pierced to the ground by shards that were placed right through her hands, shoulders and even her feet; how did they defeat her? She was a strong fighter! Still she was alive and he had to get her back to :re “Touka!”

His clumsy hands shook with fear as he tried to take them out piece-by-piece much like glass; even taking off her mask, “Touka can you hear me?”  
“Ryoichi…What are you?” She turned her head and took a look at herself, her wounds oozing as the shards were taken out, “she got me…Stop crying you idiot I’ll be fine.” She pushed him to the side and started to pick them out herself, though she did a poor job of hiding the pain when she did so. But what she failed to realize was that he was crying for their fallen comrades, even in the dark he could see all their bodies scattered around with a leg here and an arm there.

And here he thought he’d left all this behind at Aogiri…But the raid was no better, he saw both humans and ghouls alike die in front of him mercilessly.

“That man,” he said whipping his eyes, “that man with the kids…was that who Yomo was talking about?”

“Yeah, that was them. Though I doubt they’re still down here…God I hope they didn’t go to the surface.” A few days ago, Yomo informed Touka of some ghouls that had been living under ground as he ran into the man known as Masaya during his meat gathering. He didn’t tell him much except that he was trying to save some kids from being captured; though he didn’t say who exactly was trying to capture them. With this in the back of his mind, Yomo came back and informed Touka of his encounter and said that it was probably worth inspecting. Wrangling up a few allies, Touka and Ryoichi decided to head down that evening and offer them some assistance…seemed like they encountered something different and now Masaya and the children were missing, “Let’s go down a little further, if they’re not down here then we can forget about it.”

“Hey! We can’t just-“ it was hard to understand, everything was hard to understand. They couldn’t just leave them, not children! 

“Ryoichi, I know exactly how you feel but…I have a shop to run and I don’t want to get caught in the process. I don’t believe it’s every man for himself, but I also don’t think risking ourselves is wise…not now anyways. Come on, let’s go look.”

They walked right to the end of the tunnel in the direction they ran earlier where they reached a blockage to seal off the exit. A dead end. Ryoichi still didn’t know what time it was but maybe they were too late, maybe the doves got them…

“Hello!” He called out, “It’s okay…Mas…Masaya?” his echo ran off the sides of the walls like a ripple, but no one replied back right away. Touka heard the faint sound of a rock moving from up on top of he blockage as if someone had shifted…that must have been him or her.

“It’s fine…the doves are gone. I’m Touka and this is Ryoichi.”

“We come in peace!”

“Don’t say that idiot!”

Then suddenly, a head peaked over the side cautiously. A man with light brown hair and eyes scanned the two as if pin pointing exactly who they were then finally a look of relief washed over his face.

“It’s you,” He said and jumped down from above, his tall, broad body causing Ryoichi to have a sudden wave of his own fear, the sudden fear of feeling short in height, “You really saved us back there! Thank you…How did you know about them coming?”

“We didn’t,” Touka said, “We were actually coming down to see you…it was just an unlucky encounter.”

“See me?”

“That’s right. I’m Touka Kirishima and this is Ryoichi Takeo.”

“I’m Masaya Shimizu, pleased to meet you.” 

“We’ve heard about you and the kids…about you fleeing…”

“You have…?” Masaya looked ashamed when she mentioned this, though clearly it wasn’t his fault…at least Ryoichi didn’t think so. But then again he didn’t know this man’s story.

“Listen, umm…We’re not sure who or what you’re hiding from but”

“I own a café that’s considered home for both humans and ghouls. Though that little fact isn’t known to the humans of course. I’m willing to shelter you and the children for a while and get you back on your feet or at least give you a boost.”

“Whatever for? Why would you offer such hospitality?” Masaya didn’t looked convinced and Ryoichi couldn’t blame him, he was in the same boat in a way.

“Because you deserve a chance just as much as anyone else. You’re alive…don’t waist it.”

Touka didn’t say much, but she seemed to have gotten on his good side and agreed to have them help them. One by one, the children all came down by the assistance of Masaya of whom they all referred to as ‘Onii-chan’.

The eldest, a girl by the name of Auralee seemed to be the ringleader of the children and she stood in front unsure of what to think about them.

The twins, Satomi and Sayuri hid behind Masaya and glared up at Ryoichi as if he had two heads or something.

Finally, the boy who no longer had the kitten, approached Touka directly as tears fell down his cheeks; he seemed to be the only child who knew what was going on.

“Do you have any meat?”

“Kennedy!” Masaya scolded but Touka reassured them,

“Yes, I have enough for all of you.”

Ryoichi wasn’t sure of what to expect with having more housemates around, but for some reason the idea of having someone like Masaya around might just bring his self-esteem into hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little ironic, wasn't it? :3
> 
> Anyways, I'll be working on the christmas one-off for the next couple of weeks. The idea I have planned would mix up things a little too much if I put it in here directly so with December literally just around the corner as well as the time line in here I think it'll work out nicely. This means that I'll be putting a short hold on the regular chapters to work on it though.


	10. Mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and enjoy~! <3
> 
> As a warning, this chapter has many perspectives and bounces quite a bit between them, just a warning.

“Go home already Koharu.” Koori Ui knocked on his sister’s office door, sighing as he saw her busily typing away on her laptop as per usual, but she was so into it that she didn’t even hear her brother calling out to her at first, “Koharu are you listening to me?!”

“What?! Do you have to yell? I’m like a few feet away…geezz” she grumbled under her breath, taking a sip of an old cup of coffee that had been her only sustainment for the past few hours. She worked through her lunch break and while she was tempted to go to the vending machine’s a few times, she just never got around to actually getting to them.

A motivated worker but lazy with her own health and well being.

“You’re going to make me grow gray hair before I have children you know that?”

“You’re already an old man so I’m surprised your head isn’t grey already.”

“Hey, I’m still only 28 you know!” Still she only could laugh as she leaned back in her chair and glanced up to see that he was standing right over her; though she didn’t seem to care as she poked his forehead and stuck out her tongue.

“If you’re 28 why do you act like an old man then? Do you really need to be a stick in the mud all the time?”

“It’s called _class_ Koharu…Which I’m almost certain that your nanny forgot to teach you.”

“Nah, she did. I just ignored her.”

Then her stomach roared from below and she even attempted to keep it quiet by trying to cover it with her arms. But she could see that even her austere older brother was fighting a grin.

“You skipped lunch again didn’t you?” Ui let out a sigh, covering his mouth as he started to put on his white jacket and glanced over to his sister who shook her head,

“I didn’t skip lunch! I…I didn’t make – have - time!”

“You’re such a child do you still need someone to babysit you? Maybe I should re-locate Hairu or Juuzou to work in here with you…they’ll remind you,” He then picked up his sister’s coat off the rack that was hanging by the door and offered to help her into it, “log out, I’ll get you something to eat.”

\--

“Well look’s like miss workaholic isn’t coming.” Brooke adjusted her glasses as she glanced up at the clock hanging up on a wall in the Villa’s living area. The Beta girls were planning on heading over to the Qs’s Christmas party and were going to wait for their squad leader to join them, but it looked like she was in no hurry to get home that night as she was still out, “Oh well her loss. Let’s go!”

“Hold on! Koharu might meet us there and I need to find the bubbles! No party is a party without a little champagne you know.” Michiko noted as she was digging through a tall cupboard where she stored her best wines and liquors that she only ever brought or used for special occasions, “Besides we promised Take we’d take the kids with us. So we still have to wait for them to arrive-“ and just as she found the correct bottle she nearly dropped it by the sound of the door opening, “They must have good ears…Carma could you give me hand here?”

The three teens entered the house carrying their own packages of sorts. Yusa had a few neatly wrapped boxes, same with Rikai, but Shio had a plastic bag filled with…who knows what.

“What’s the deal with the bag?” Brooke asked as she tried to take a peak until the boy pulled it away from his sight by hiding it behind his back,

“UHh…Coloring! Crafts and stuff to you know…Keep me busy!”

“Aren’t you a little old for that gig?”

“HEY!”

“Don’t be mean Brooke! I think it’s fine, nothing to get your panties in a knot over.” Kitami said as she balanced a stack of gifts in her arms, nearly toppling over before Rikai and Yusa helped her by taking some of the load, “I mean, whatever floats your boat.”

Once everyone was ready to go and they were already making their way to the party, the purple haired girl nudged Shio and asked what was really in the bag,

“Tools. We’re going to try and get Kitami to notice Yusa. It’s Christmas, the night for romance after all.”

“Aren’t you mistaking it for Valentine’s day?”

“Trust me, we’ll make it work. If these don’t make someone fall in love then I get to do dishes for a month.”

\--

“I’ve got to say, I’m impressed that you actually offered to buy me food. You usually just tell me to ‘ _take care_ ’ or that ‘ _I’m an idiot_ ’.”  
December evenings in Tokyo were usually pretty busy and this night was no different. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground and with all the Christmas displays around it was pretty easy to forget about the strangers, that’s what Koharu thought. But she was sure her brother found it more of a bore or childish.

“No, you’re an idiot alright.” He sighed, his hands in his pockets and head high, the usual stance she saw him in…then again she was the exact same. But being in a high-class family would expect nothing less from them; back straight and head foreword as if they owned the place. It was bad habit she was yet to break,

“An idiot you say? Well Santa’s going to put you on the naughty list for that! You’re supposed to be good this time of year you know!”

“I was always on the naughty list, but I still got treats…might as well been coal though.”

“Yeah, I agree.” She shouldn’t have said that so casually but it was true. Koharu and Koori were ruined, spoiled, even bratty children and yet they always got whatever they had on the lists for Christmas, everything but their parent’s love of course. With their age difference, Koori had to pretend in the fairy tale for his sister’s sake when she was little and actually did a pretty good job of it too. She’d always remembered him taking her to write letters and go find Santa’s at the malls when their parents wouldn’t take her; which they never did. But she was okay with that because that meant that she had more memories with her only brother and those could never be taken from her, “Hey, let’s eat here!”

“Why Ramen? We could have gone to a nice noodle shop you know, or barbecue.” Koori didn’t order anything from the fast food ramen shop and instead tapped his fingers on the table as his sister greedily ate her large bowl,

“ Iwts gwood!” she said as she popped a piece of tempura in her mouth, her face lightening up every time she chewed. Even such a simple dish like this was enough to make her happy. Not too sweet not too spicy; a bit on the salty side of things…but just enough to make her smile.

“Eat then talk! If you choke then I’ll have to deal with that…”

“Hmmm,” Still she paid no mind to his nagging comments and continued to eat as she had been, though with the silence in between her slurping and chewing she heard Christmas music playing the background of the shop, “The CCG doesn’t have Christmas parties does it?”

“No, at least not in-office parties per say…Apparently Sasaki’s hosting one this year…so I’ve heard.” Ui couldn’t sound less interested but in a way she was kind of relived too because she wasn’t much for parties either.

Loud

Obnoxious

Chaotic

And causes too many headaches worth dealing with; much like her living situation in the Villa these days. But that kind of chaos was more comforting then annoying.

“Oh, What are you doing for tomorrow then? Everyone has the day off right?” She spoke as she chomped down on another tempera, her brother avoiding her glance as she did so,

“Well….I was thinking about going home.”

“Why would you do that? Mom and Dad are overseas still aren’t they? The train’s will be packed at last minute!”

“That’s why I want to go, the manor will be empty except for the servants but they’re no bother. Besides I already reserved tickets for the trains later tonight. I thought that maybe I would give Hairu a nice, quiet Christmas.”

“Hairu?” What did he mean? Why would he be taking Hairu to their parent’s for Christmas…alone? A cheeky smile grew across her face as she could only suspect one and only reason he of all people would do such a thing.

“My dear brother, aren’t you being a little nonchalant. I didn’t even know you and Hairu were a thing. Tell me the juicy details! How’d you confess? Did you kiss? Have sex?!”

“K-Koharu! Don’t shout those kinds of things in public!” His red face was starting to give him away and while she wanted to tease him more she knew better than to go any further, she was an Ui after all.

“Alright alright, but seriously though why didn’t you tell me sooner? How long has it been now?” Koharu was no longer interested in her food as she pushed the half eaten bowl to the side and leaned over the table like a cheeky schoolgirl. How exciting this was! He listened to her for once.

“It’s been a little while now,” he said shyly, “We’ve been keeping it pretty slow as to not cause attention to ourselves. After all, we’re coworkers as well so if it were to get out right away people will certainly start making note.”

Of course there was a catch to this. A fault. Why couldn’t he just get into it…?

“And there you go again…”

“Pardon?”

His sister shook her head and rested her hands on the table, this is what she was blessed to deal with,

“This is what I’m talking about…Okay, let me ask you this - did you and Hairu come to that choice together or was it you who decided that?”  
Perhaps it was her tone because her brother was staring at her as if she had three heads or something! But really it was a simple question…that or maybe he was afraid to be honest; he always was. But she knew Hairu too and Hairu didn’t seem like the girl to keep all the romance to herself…But if that was a false interpretation she had her fooled for that ‘little while’.

“What are you getting at now Koharu-“

“Stupid brother! Are you keeping this a secret from the world because you don’t want to be judged? Really?! Honestly you are such a coward!”

“Coward?! Koharu, I think you’re forgetting a very important fact here, she’s 8 years younger then me, she’s my coworker, my partner, surly people would look at that the wrong way and see me as a snake! I’d loose the respect that took years for me to build on!”  
The siblings were now so caught up in their own disagreement that they didn’t even notice that the people around them were starting to look in their direction a whisper amongst themselves.

“Ha, I see, It’s all about you,” the raven-haired girl huffed, “are you really saying you’d rather put your pride before your love? Does this mean all those times you cried to me drunk saying how much you loved Hairu was a waist then? Well some Special Class you-“

“Shut your mouth!” Ui rose to his feet and slammed his hands against the table, making floor shake a little under them. His face was so grim and pale from the poor lighting that she thought she was facing a ghost, a ghoul maybe, “You have no right to speak to me that way! You might be my sister but I still demand some respect. Your opinions are only valid when asked, unethical things as you should watch their tongues especially as my subordinate!” As soon as that final word passed his lips was only then Koharu realized how far in hot water she was, but worse then that was he speaking out at her in anger or by truth?

She was unethical? Just a subordinate?

For a moment she fell back into her seat and glared at him with empty eyes and a half smile.

“Oh I see how it is. Subordinate huh? I guess you’re putting your pride before your family too…fancy that.”

“I- No that’s not like…”

“Hmm well then. I knew you were selfish Koori Ui, but I guess you’re greedy too.” Shuffling up from her seat, Koharu tried her best to act cool and unaffected as she was about to leave, standing up straight and keeping her head high just as she’d seen Michiko do when she was hurt, though for her it didn’t work as her head fell and her hair now covered part of her face, “Well, good luck with that secret relationship. As a ‘subordinate’ I guess I have no right to be interested in your well being…I’ll be seeing you.” Apart from the quiet tuning of the music playing the back along with the clacking of her shoes, the shop was eerily quiet and all eyes fell on her as she left. She didn’t need to look to know, but she felt them follow her like a shadow.

\--

“What the hell is this?!” Kanae meant to stop at the shop to pick up some coffee beans, but instead she found herself lost in Santa’s workshop, “What the HELL IS THIS?”

“Ah, I’m sorry umm, can I help you?”

“And who the fuck are you?!” Kanae pointed a long finger towards Masaya who looked a little surprised but not threatened, luckily though he was accompanied by Ryoichi who’s hair had now grown past his ears.

“Kanae, meet Masaya Shimizu, he’s the new guy.”

“State the obvious genius,” She scoffed, now looking at his size and height even she felt a little insecure, “But what happened to this place…looks like Rudolf barfed in here.”

“Apparently no one here’s ever had a real Christmas party before,” Masaya said as he elbowed his friend next to him, “as a kid I used to have one every year, so I took on the challenge of giving them one myself…A ghoul Christmas party. Touka said she’d invite some of the ghouls from the area to come down too.”

_A Christmas party?_

Suddenly, Kanae felt someone small wrap themselves around her leg and nearly attacked before she saw it was just a child – no - there were two of them!

“Aus! Aus!”

“Ah, Don’t worry that’s just Satomi and Sayuri…" Ryoichi said as he and Masaya detached the small ghoul children off of Kanae both laughing as the purple haired woman gave them a dirty glare with her red eyes.

“Little mice.”

“You know Kanae, you could always come too, we’re having it tonight.” Touka came from behind the two men and handed Kanae her beans, though her customer looked as if she might burst a vein in her head.

“No…sounds like a waist of time! Besides I have master Shuu to think about!”

Touka rolled her eyes but she wasn’t going to force her to come if she didn’t want, she was a hard cookie to crumble,

“Fine, but the invite is still open.”

“Whatever..” with that the purplette took her leave and made sure to slam the door behind her.

“A Christmas party for ghouls? Really who’d think of such a thing…There’s no use in celebrating in a world like this…”

But deep down, the idea of having actual fun sounded like…fun.

 

Soon, friends of the café started to come into the café one by one; all ghouls of course and all excited to experience a ‘real’ Christmas party. Masaya especially took a liking to one guy named Ikuma as the two were able to connect by their love for guitar. Ikuma even offered to play music for the party.

But while Ryoichi was serving coffee to some of the guests, the door opened to some more or less unexpected guests. A couple of members from Aogiri.

“I’m telling you I don’t need you here.”

“Sure you do! You need my moral support!”

“What moral support?!” Hideyori and Eto had apparently stopped in and he had a good idea as to why. Of all nights why would Hideyori want to start discussing things now?!

“H-Hideyori?!”

“Relax,” she sighed as she and Eto took a seat at one of the bar stools at the counter, “We just stopped in for a coffee…nothing more.”

“O-Oh!” Indeed Ryoichi was surprised to get an answer like that but if that’s al they wanted then he’d serve them and get them out as quickly as he could. Placing delicate cups of coffee in front of them, he did his best not to have his hands shake as he poured them their beverages.

“We wouldn’t Becker down on you on Christmas, we have enough of a heart for that.” Eto laughed as she pushed her large glasses up her face, though Ryo could only turn his back and pretend to be doing work as best to ignore them,

“Well I can’t recall if you do…”

“Hmm~? Says the son of Sho-“

“Don’t Eto.” Hideyori said sharply as she lifted the cup to her lips almost ladylike, “Not today.”

“Fine~ I do miss teasing him though (So easy.)”

\--

“Of course he decides to be difficult before Christmas.” She huffed, moving her feet through the street, not even bothering to take notice of the snow that was starting to fall around her. Her Raman was sitting in her stomach like a heavy weight, her stomach seemingly becoming smaller as her frustration grew the more she thought about Ui and the way they spoke to each other.

She just wanted to make sure he was happy. But if he didn’t want to share that happiness with her that was his choice in the end.

Since it was Christmas Eve, why wouldn’t she want to treat herself to a good cup of tea to settle her nerves? Perhaps: re’s tea was just as good…

When she walked inside, it was the first time in a while she’d seen it to be as busy as it was inside. There were plenty of unfamiliar faces sitting around the café and she could even see a new employee…However her gaze was to the bar counter to where she usually sat and her usual barista, though this time he was talking to an odd pair of looking young ladies. One with blue hair and the other with green locks tied in a tacky bun. Oh well, it was Christmas so all kinds of people were out and about.

Koharu walked up to her usual stool and as soon as she took a seat next to the blue haired woman Ryoichi gave her a smile.

“Ah, good evening Ui-chan!”

“I thought I told you not to call me that.”

“I know but…” the blue haired woman beside her slammed her cup into it’s saucer and took her leave for the door so fast that Koharu didn’t even have a chance to look at her face, “W-Wait, Hideyori!”

“Don’t mind her~ Christmas hormones you know.” The green haired lady laughed as she placed their payment on the table and chased after her friend leaving Koharu to raise a brow at the odd behavior. Oh well nothing to pickle over, they’re not her issue.

“I’m sorry about that…Can I get you anything?” He looked as if he was about to prep the coffee brewer but she stopped him quick enough and placed her order for a green tea instead, “Oh, of course! Coming up.”

Once her tea bag had set in the boiling water for a couple of minutes or so, she gently lifted the cup to her lips and took a careful sip. As soon as the hot beverage hit her gut she already started to feel a bit better, even if just a little.

“It’s good.”

“We hand pick our tea leaves,” Touka, the owner, said as she came over to the two of them after serving some other customers, “Not many come in for tea, but for the ones that do I like to think that it should be as good as the coffee. To do that hand selecting is best.”

“It shows. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s with all the people here tonight? I mean, I’ve just never seen so many at once.”  
Ryoichi perked up as soon as she asked that question, not even looking at Touka when he blurted out,

“Christmas party! I uh…I mean, we’re having a party tonight with some of our families tonight.”  
“A party…? You guys have lots of family…”

“Well uh…Close friends too,” In he corner of Koharu’s eye, she could see Touka gritting her teeth as the redhead spoke, “You know Ui-chan, if you want you can come too if you want. Always room for one more-“

“Let’s not be so direct Ryo!” The woman said as she pushed her coworker to the side, “Maybe she already has plans…”

“Actually, I don’t…” She could tell that she wasn’t wanted, she wasn’t family with these people and she could understand why Touka wouldn’t want her to just barge in, “But I won’t intrude on the fun. I’m a party pooper anyways. No fun!”

Thanks for the invite though

Finishing up her tea, she left her change on the counter and had only managed to walk outside the shop before she felt a hand grab her by the shoulder! Turning around on instinct, she was surprised to see Ryo standing there with a desperate look on his face.

“I know Touka sounded…rude in there but honestly. If you want to come you can.”

“No, I don’t want to be a bother.” Honestly what was his deal? But even as she tried to just go home he stopped her again,

“You’re not going to be a bother! Besides… I want you there!”

“You?”

“Yeah!”

Koharu glanced inside the window and could see Touka giving an annoyed nod, but still with the way her night was going she’d be having to keep it low to avoid any more possible…mishaps.

“I’ll see…Maybe I’ll drop by later.”

\--

It was a full house at the Quinx’s Chateau.

The Beta girls were quiet surprised by the crowd that showed up, especially Arima and Akira! But for Shio, he saw this as a perfect chance for Rikai and him to get things set up without being noticed.

Brooke was eager to jump into the coolers and play video games with some of the other investigators.

Carma decided help out in the kitchen for the first little while with Haise and Mutsuki to help prepare some small dishes.

Kitami was off busily helping Saiko finish decorating the tree and acting as her cheerleader to finish it!

But as for Michiko, she off trying to find her way through the crowd for a certain someone, even in a big house large get together made it feel that much smaller. Eventually she did manage to bump into him from behind as he was pouring himself a bit of soda,

“There you are Mizurou!”

The young man looked confused for a moment but as soon as he saw her bright green eyes he immediately smiled and ignored his drink,

“Heya Michiko. Good to see you…I mean it - that dress.” It was easy to see that a Michiko didn’t understand the term of casual party as she was the only one there all dolled up in a fancy, skin tight dress that had clearly caused her crush to flusher. But that was her plan anyways. Twisting some of her hair between her fingers she pretended not to notice,

“Oh…I just got it.”

“It look’s pretty on you. Anything does really.” His flattering comments were making her stomach have butterflies the more and more they talked. It seemed like each time they even had simple encounters these feelings inside only grew…but did he even feel the same? “I’m glad you came.” It was at that moment she felt her hand be pulled into his own as he stood a little closer to her as the shouting in the room only rose…looked like Brooke was starting a riot over the video game system.

“HE CHEATED!”

“Brooke…Arima-san didn’t cheat,” Itou insisted as he tried to start a new level on whatever game they were playing, “He must just have a secret talent for video games.”

“No I didn't…I had an opening to win.” Arima didn’t seem affected by the young woman’s tantrum and instead gave up his controller to Shirazu who was willing to try a round against Brooke instead.

This wasn’t going to be amusing for anyone Michiko thought. But maybe they could have a different kind of fun for just the two of them. She gripped onto Mizurou’s hand a bit tighter to beckon him down so she could whisper in his ear,

“Want to…go somewhere else.” She hoped that she was able to drop the hint enough for him and he must have gotten it because his face gave it away by how read it was.

“Y-You want to- Now?! Here?!”

“You don’t?” They might not have been a couple, but maybe Michiko could pull the strings a little and get him on her idea train and tease him a little.

“Well I…” he gulped, “I do.”

“I don’t see Urie here…Let’s use his bed!”

“Michiko Ayase you’re going to get us killed while we’re naked. That’s a bold side I didn’t know you had…” He joked as a smile grew across his face at his own comment, following her lead up the stairs as they sneaked up to the bedroom’s. However, they didn’t go unnoticed as Juuzou, who was casually taking a candy cane off the tree spot Mitzurou.

“Where’s he going?” In Juuzou’s mind as a leader, he always had an interest as to what his teammates were up to and carefully followed behind.

\--

Of course they went to the Qs party.

Of course they did, why wouldn’t they?

Of course she only found out because Kitami was the only one decent enough to tell her … through a hand-written letter on the fridge!

_'Ui-chan,_

_We’re picking up Shio, Rikai, and Yusa then heading to Haise’s! When you have a second you should stop by!_

_~Kitami ❤'_

“Great…” She sighed ripping the note off the fridge and crumpling it in her hands, “Just golden.” At this point she couldn’t go to the manor because of her brother, she didn’t really want to show her face to the Qs party, the Office was closed so she couldn’t work…she really didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts here. Where was she to go?

“I sounded like a bitch…did he really want me to go?” even if he didn’t, she was still desperate enough to at least go somewhere that she wouldn’t have a headache over. Who knows, maybe it would be fun.

 

Was she still in Tokyo? The city felt so dead without anyone outside. She could have sworn she was the only one out there that Christmas eve night, no moving cars, no people wondering about, just her as she ran down the street towards the café,

She actually felt lost without having the bossiness to guide her.

When she did finally make it to the café, at first Koharu was hesitant to pull on the door handle and just walk inside like ‘she owned the place’. She didn’t. She might be a Ui, but she wasn’t a princess. Sucking in her breath she walked inside and as the bell above the door rang, she could already hear the sounds of a guitar playing and the voices of the rowdy crowd.

This is what she didn’t care for, but this time she smiled and held her head up,

“Uh…hey, room for one more?”

“Ui-chan!” Ryoichi exclaimed from the back of the crowd, “It’s okay! She’s with me.” Followed behind him was a very tall, broad, and of course muscular man. Was that the new guy?

“Hi Ryo. Yeah turns out that…my plans fell through.”

“Oh so we’re the last resort?” Touka joked as she approached them, a slice of cake in her hand that she shoved into Koharu’s, “Just kidding…Glad you made it.”

“Thanks…me too…” Koharu looked down upon the desert in her hands and tried her best not to turn it away; though she was thankful Ryo gave her and excuse to put it down,

“Hey Ui-chan, have you met the new guy Masaya? Look how tall he is!” Masaya, the man laughed and lowered his head towards her,

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“You too...Masaya.” She didn’t mean to repeat his name, but didn’t Carma have a guy named Masaya? 

“Hmm?”

“Oh! No nothing! I just have a friend…with the same name.” This couldn’t be the same guy, Masaya died years ago by the hands of ghouls. Their names were just a coincidence.

\--

“That’s the last one.”

“You think?” Every single door has a piece of mistletoe hanging over it, plenty of hint cards hidden around for Yusa to use, basically anything to give him an excuse to talk to her again.

“Alright Rikai…now we just need to let Yusa know.”

“You never told him about this?!”

“No, I thought this could be his gift from us. Think about it, if we got him with his dream girl we’d be the-”

“Biggest idiots for not at least telling him…” It was easier to believe then not that Shio forgot to tell the one in question about what was going on. Oh well the only thing they could do was watch it unfold.

Yusa at that moment was already organizing the gifts under the tree as no one else seemed to be motivated to do so and once he was happy with his set up he was about to get something to snack on before he spotted Kitami opening a beer can.

 _'I can’t even drink yet… Another reason she wouldn’t like me.'_ Even so, he knew that with everyone distracted he could at least try and make small talk with her without feeling too awkward about it.

“Hey, Kitami.” He greeted as he grabbed himself a soda can and stood next to her,

“Hi’ya. Finished already I see, nice job assorting… I see you did it by colour”

“Anyone can do that, it’s nothing to 'wow' over.”

“Sure it is. Anything is if you put effort into it.” She smiled and took a few sips from her beer can and he from his soda.  
_I didn’t though…You’re just being nice_.

“Hey Yusa?”

“Hmm…?”

“I- What’s this?” the two of them raised their heads to see a mysterious piece of mistletoe hanging over their heads. Yusa quickly noticed and traced the piece of string that lead to behind the couch where his two friends were using a toy fishing rod to hang it over their heads much to his displeasure, but Kitami didn’t seem to catch them,

“Would you look at this…you know what this means right?”

Yusa’s body went stiff,

“I uh- no I don’t!” Of course he did, but he couldn’t just say it…

“Well then…I guess I’ll show you.” And before he could protest, he suddenly felt her soft lips touch - his cheek! “You do that!...Are you okay?”  
For a moment the boy couldn’t move, his vision nearly went out on him and his balance nearly gave out… **WoW!**

“I’m. Fine.” It wasn’t on the lips, he didn’t expect her to, but he at least got something…he was pretty close to giving his friends a hug for this. But soon, Kitami had been distracted by something else and left him alone as he cupped the cheek that she kissed with a dorky smile on his face.

“Did you see that?! Now that’s what I call a good last minute gift.” Shio asked as he and Rikai came out,

“I was there Shio…I saw.”

“That must have made your day,” The purple haired girl said, a smile pulling on her face too. But Yusa was pretty quiet for the rest of the night, too lost in that solid memory to take interest in anything else. But who could blame him?

Meanwhile, Mizurou and Michiko made their way back down the stairs as if they’d never left with Juuzou behind them. They never had the chance to do anything when they were being watched.

“I’m sorry Michiko,” In all honesty, Mizurou was a bit embarrassed as a man for not being able to carry through, but how could he when his squad leader almost caught them, “But…Suzuya-senpai-“

“Why are you apologizing?” she asked while fixing some of her hair, “It’s not your fault really.”

“But maybe this was a sign.”

“Sign?” She didn’t understand what he meant, but as her green orbs followed his brown ones she was able to see that under the door way was a piece of dangling mistletoe. 

“Yeah,” Mizurou reached his hands down for hers and pulled her closer to him, so close that Michiko could hear the thumping of his heart against his chest, “You know Michiko…I like you, I like you a lot and…I’ve been wondering…would you maybe like to be with me too?” She certainly didn’t expect him to confess to her, in fact she pictured herself being the one to confess and not even through intercourse. Maybe it was a good things Juuzou showed up, otherwise they could’ve made a hasty mistake. Her entire face flushed as she nodded,

“Yeah, I’d love to be with you Mizurou.” And before she had a chance to say anything else, she closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss him carefully on the lips, though she could still hear the comments of the rest of the Suzuya squad from afar. Looked like getting time with him alone would be difficult, but that was fine because it was good to know that he had supportive friends. Just like her.

\--

Koharu had to admit her night was odd as she had the chance to meet all kinds of other people at the party

A cool guy named Nishiki gave her the cold shoulder when she tried to speak with him at first, but eventually caved in,

Touka’s uncle who came had one too many and was probably the loudest one of them all.

Some interesting looking guy who Ryoichi called Uta tried to offer her a tattoo to which she declined.

A gossip chick who she never had the chance to meet but was hanging around Touka’s uncle and the Uta fellow,

There was even a man that came in that was more or less unknown. Touka nor Ryo were able to identify him in person but he seemed to be aquatinted with the tattoo man so no harm.

There were plenty of other people she didn’t get the chance to meet, but those she did she was glad she got the chance because no matter who they were they all welcomed her in as if she were one of the family. For someone who didn’t like parties she liked this one.

Still she had to get home at some point that night as to not stay past her; that and it looked like they already had a full house to deal with.

“Thanks for the party, it was fun.” Ryoichi insisted on walking her part way home, she said she’d be fine but he wouldn’t give it up.

“I’m glad you liked it. That was our first party like that though…It was Masaya’s idea.”

“It brought in…an odd group.”

“I know…but they’ve done so much for me so I can’t hate them no mater how weird or cold they act. We’ve all got something going on beneath the surface right? The way I see it, I’ll only trust someone until they give me a reason not to.” For a moment there, she wanted to argue about her brother…but when she thought about it Ryo was right. Maybe there was more to it and she failed to take it into account.

“Yeah…That’s a good way to see it.”

“Hey…Ui- Koharu?”

“Yeah?” She looked beside her, when he called her by her given name she was almost surprised, but before he could say anything to her she heard another voice coming from behind them calling to her.

“Koori-bro…?” She couldn’t believe it…was that her brother running to her? When Koharu was about to turn to Ryo to bid him farewell he was already gone.

“I’ve been all over the place looking for you, you know!” She almost had to laugh as she watched him run to her with his usually perfect hair windblown and his face beat red from the cold; but what made her nearly jump back was the fact that he hugged her.

What? Wasn’t he taking Hairu to the manor?

Behind him, she could see Hairu coming towards them in a jogging pace,

“Koori-bro…- I uh – I thought you went to…were going to…”

“Change of plans.” He said, pulling away from the hug and glanced down at her. He wasn’t frowning nor was he smiling. That was rare she thought, “Seems that I… made a mistake.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...” He paused for a moment to collect before continuing, “I haven’t been as foreword with you as I should be. You’re my little sister and pretty much the only part of our family that’s actually given a living damn about me…I don’t know why I over looked that. Basically what I’m getting at is that…Koharu, as weird as this sounds…I think I depend on you more then I think I do because if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be with Hairu. You pushed me and I’m thankful…What I should be saying is unethical or not we’re family. I’m sorry Koharu. I was the one at fault.”

There were very rare occasions that her brother made actually made such confessions like this, basically never. But for some reason she couldn’t even allow herself to be in wonder by it because she knew that she was at fault too. After all, she was the one who wanted to stick her nose where she shouldn’t have put it.

Was he serious? Did he really want to take all the blame? No way! She’d share it this time. Hugging him in return she made sure to add her two cents,  
“Hey it’s fine…I was out of line too…and if you’re not ready to spread the love to everyone else’s attention then so be it. I guess I’ve been waiting for it to happen for so long that I was annoyed that you didn’t tell me right away…but hey, did Hairu make you apologize?”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t let her go.”

For a minute or so longer, the siblings kept their embrace tight before Ui was first to pull away again and beckoned Hairu to his other side. The way he looked at the pinkette it was clear that he loved that woman, he might not have expressed it through the way his body communicated but Koharu could see it in his eyes.

“Hey, my group’s out for the night so why don’t you two stay with me at the Villa tonight?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”

“Oh and there’s plenty of rooms to pick to do you know…the wild thing.”

**“KOHARU!”**

“What!? I want to be an auntie one day you know! Koori-bro if you get any older you won’t be able to make any babies!”

“It doesn’t work like that! Did you sleep in health class?!”

“Aw don’t argue you two, you just made up!” Hairu laughed as she walked in between them, “hey instead of the Villa, why don’t we stop by the Qs’s party! I hear that everyone’s there! Please, it might be fun!”

The Ui siblings didn’t look intrigued by the idea, but since it was Hairu that was asking they were willing to put up with the rowdiness of their coworkers. Bedside’s Koharu already had a head start by going to the :re party.

“Well what’da know. Special class bowl cut and his harem have arrived.” Saiko snickered when she opened the door to the trio who’d all brought in some sake as a gift for the hosts. By just glancing over at her brother he could see that Ui wanted to open a bottle and dump it over the bluenette’s head.

It was clear that Koharu had missed out on most of the party already though just by the way everyone had smiles on their faces and some were even hand in hand. Some expected some were not. Even Special class Mougan had shown up in a Santa costume. But what was clear about it was that Christmas must have worked some type of odd miracles that night and Koharu was glad that she at least got to spend a bit of it with everyone. The sweet parts and the salty, at least she could say she’d remember it. However, judging by the empty bottle’s laying about she doubted that some would be.


	11. A Horse With No Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~ <333

“Hey Masaya, do you have a moment?” Touka called from the back of the shop, a more or less restricted area where she kept her careful supply of meat; but it seems like that supply was starting to run low thanks to the Christmas and new year celebrations. Once the man was able to take a look for himself the hair on the back of his neck started to stand on end, he knew exactly what she was going to ask of him and frankly he wasn’t a fan of going out to do it.

“We’re low huh?”

“Well after the new year we’ve had plenty of ghouls come in here.” Not only that but since Masaya and the children had come to stay at the café the fridge’s supply ran out much faster then usual, even with or without guests, “Do you think you can head out tonight and get some more? Yomo’s out for the week and I don’t think we can wait for him to come back.”

“I guess I can go after my shift.” Out of habit, he reached up to his head as if to pull forward a hat that was no longer there. Really, he didn’t want to go but then again he had to make sure the little one’s were fed…as well as himself. 

“Need a hand out there?” Ryoichi asked peaking his head inside the room, “I could use a little outing! I think I’ll be fine now that my hair has really grown out!” by this point, Ryo’s hair had grown to his shoulders, long enough to put into a pony tail to which he did during his own shifts. Touka yanked on a piece of his red strands and pulled it out by the root, that nearly making his eyes water,

“OW! Hey what was that for!?”

“You know if you think you look cool with long hair like that you don’t! You look scruffy…honestly my Christmas gift to you should have been a haircut.”

“No thanks. The hair stays, it’s not bothering anyone.”

“It’s bothering me! You looked better with it short and if Kanae was here she’d say the same thing!” With the back and fourth bickering Masaya wasn’t sure if he was to look at them or the ceiling; luckily their boss put him back to work so he didn’t have to stand there and watch a pointless argument take over their work time.

It was deserted inside at the time and Masaya usually allowed the younger ghouls to come down and help out if they wanted. Auralee, the eldest at the age of 12 was often in charge of helping make sure every cup had a saucer, the plants were watered, each table had it’s little menu; basically all the little things that made a big difference when it came to presentation. However, her brother Kennedy, age 11, was less excited about his chore of sweeping or cleaning windows.

“I want to go outside,” He said as he tossed the broom to the wall, “I feel like I haven’t seen the sun in forever!”

“Stop whining!” His sister called as she helped stack the bookshelf in colored order, “We all want to go outside, it’s just about you…right Onii-chan?”

“That’s right, but I understand how you both feel…I promise I’ll take you all outside soon.” For kids, they’d behaved quiet well being cooped up in a small resentence for so long and their energy had certainly gotten better now that they’d had good meat to eat and a proper roof over their head. They owed it all to Ryoichi and Touka. Perhaps early tomorrow morning he’d take them to the park before the school kids got there, once he returned from his ‘errand’. But these kids had been through a lot, so having this opportunity to rest was good for them.

Just as he said he would, Masaya, with Ryoichi by his side, had left right after his shift to the Cliffside. Because it was so far and they didn’t have the car on hand they had to leave early to make it back by at least sunrise.

“Thanks for coming along, I could use an extra hand.” In all honesty Masaya could’ve easily done this on his own, especially since Ryoichi wasn’t a strong man and could hardly seem to hold his own weight at times…but he was grateful for the company.

“Sure. Like I said I needed to get air. Touka doesn’t let me out of the café on my own very much.”

“Hm? Why’s that?”

“...Well I guess it’s because my kagune doesn’t work. Or maybe because I’m jumpy and bad with words…I guess she’s afraid I’ll get caught by the doves with no way of defense.” As a man himself, Masaya had a feeling that it must’ve been embarrassing for Ryo not being able to hold his ground on his own anymore, but Touka had the right to call the shots for him because if he ever did come face to face with the CCG again he could easily be killed on the spot. Not to mention she could be in jeopardy too.

Quickly changing the subject, Masaya stopped outside of a little hat shop at a corner block. Convenient.  
“Hold on a second,” He said as he turned their attention to the store, “Mind if I buy something quickly.” It wasn’t a question though, more like a statement as the tall man marched in swiftly and soon returned with a western hat placed atop his head.

“What’s with that?”

“My head was feeling a little naked.”

“You look ridiculous…”

“Hey! It protects my head from the sun!"

"Are you a ghoul or a vampire?"

"I used to wear a hat like this all the time before- Uh, never mind. Let’s go.”

\--

“My my, you look rather upset today Hideyori,” Eto chuckled as she approached the bluenette who was sitting at the edge of a building, one of their many HQs, “Thinking about your sister again?”

“Don’t go assuming.” She responded sharply, “You don’t know me well enough guess what I’m thinking about. Go back to writing your novels or something.”

“Ouch! Cold as usual…oh well that’s what I like about you.” The green haired ghoul took a seat beside her friend on the building that was overlooking a small section of the city, though while she was looking at it Hideyori didn’t see anything as her eyes could only see the images in the back of her head, but not process them. “Well if you don’t want to tell me directly…why don’t I make a guessing game out of it? It’s not like you think about too many things.”

“Don’t even try.”

“Okay let’s see…is it Ryoichi?”

While Hideyori did her best to make her expression seem indifferent it was clear that Eto made an early homerun as her eyebrows flinched. A giveaway. Ever since the raid he was always on her mind, the day he went missing she was sure he’d been killed…but running into him was like he came back from the dead. He was alive and she was thankful for that, but whatever had happened to him during the gap, it was clear that his feelings for her weren’t there anymore. Why did Eto insist that they stop for coffee on Christmas Eve? Hideyori wasn’t sure who the raven-haired woman was but the way he looked at her was the same way he used to look at her. Weird enough she wasn’t mad at that woman, she was mad at Ryoichi.

“Eto, do you think that Ryoichi left because of someone else?”

“Hard to say~ I mean there could be numerous reasons to why he left. I don’t care why…but I do miss making fun of him.”

“Tsk. You’re no help…” She often had to ask herself why this girl wanted to hang around her, she might have been the leader but she never took her problems seriously. Never mind anyone else’s. Getting up from her spot, Hideyori took one final look at the city and the blinding light from the sunset as if to give herself blinding punishment. It seemed like the only way she’d truly get her questions asked was if she was to find Ryoichi again and ask him herself. Of course that was easier said then done considering that most if not all her time was spent doing Eto’s dirty work whenever she was merged in with the human world. No matter, she’d get him to talk to her, even if she had to use force to do so.

“By the way Hideyori,” Eto said as she took off the hood of her attire, her face wasn’t bandaged up, “Would you mind checking on Naki for me? He hasn’t been the same since the auction. Probably because he lost two of his friends.”

“Haven’t we all?” 

“What was that now?”

“Nothing…”

“Don’t worry I heard you crystal clear,” The green haired woman laughed, she really was a devil, “That’s just what happens in a war, death is a natural thing and must run it’s course until a side is won. Though even without a war the world would still be a living hell. Humans are greedy creatures Hideyori, remember that. They’ll take everything from you, loved ones, children, even your life if their own benefit’s from it…In our case our lives are nothing to them and having our heads are what allows theirs to stay on their shoulders.”

She wasn’t wrong there. It was so unfair that they had to be born ghouls, none of them asked for a life like this, but what choice did they have? A child never got to choose it’s parents, but at least they got to decide what path to take in life if they worked for it. For Hideyori, her path wasn’t clear either, but at least she had something in mind if she would one day be able to rest easy over her little sister’s death.

On her way back inside, Hideyori chewed on Eto’s words before she spotted Miza, a ghoul she considered to be a good ally, standing at the stairway’s entrance.

“Guess who’s back?”

“These guessing games…,” The bluenette scoffed, “Who?”

Miza motioned for her to follow her down the decaying stairs, each plank creaking under them as they came closer and closer to the bottom floor, though she never did say whom they were going to see. Was it Ryoichi? Did he come back? For a brief moment Hideyori felt a spark of hope within her that maybe it was. If so, she just actually might be able to grin.

But that spark of hope soon shriveled away when she spotted bright red hair at the bottom of the stairs – red hair that didn’t belong to Ryo – and her heart sank back down to her stomach.

“Big Shot’s back.” Miza commented as the two of them looked upon the small group of Aogiri member’s surround the man with red hair. His face was unmoved by the calls and admiration, his hands in tight fists, and his attire was nothing but black. “I wonder if he knows that his son left?”

“Hard to say…I guess we should welcome him back.” Making their way down to the bottom, no one seemed to even engage Hideyori and Miza’s presence, no one but the redhead himself as he pushed his way through and marched over to them, “Welcome back, Takeo.”

“I don’t need a welcome Ms. Shion, just my share of the pay.” He said harshly, “Let’s talk deals and numbers. Then I’d like to prepare for another job.”

“Right. Eto’s out at the moment but I can fill in her place for now.”

“I trust you’ll give me my fair share.”

“Of course.”

“Alright then, lead the way.”

Takeo, the man without a name stood as one of Aogiri’s best traveling members, taking care of jobs all over Japan and stood as a major representative for their organization. He was a strong fighter and never backed down from any battle in front of him, but he also had no physical emotion; at least any that was seen in daylight. All he seemed to care about was money and lots of it. If a job paid well he’d head out as soon as he could.

The difference between Ryoichi and this man was like night and day, it was hard to believe that they were related in the way the carried themselves. If he was the reason that Ryo left then even she could understand.

From what Eto had told her a long time ago, they just showed up one day out of the blue, no belongings except for the clothes on their backs.  
Eto was also the only one that knew this man’s first name. Whatever it was it was not to be told to any of the common ghouls, or any of the elite! He was the mystery man.

Hideyori asked Miza to take over her pervious job and look after Naki while she was to deal with Takeo’s payment.

It was a quick job to do though as it was ¾ split with him getting the smaller portion of course. Even so, 50 000 yen was still a good payment in the ghoul world and he made this on a regular basis. 

“Here’s your payment as asked.” She said handing him the cash to which he even started to go through to double check it was the right amount. The one time that Ayato did the payment and tried to take some extra money for himself must have left Takeo on a scare to be sure that he was getting the proper pay. Ayato nearly lost his life that day, but Hideyori would have been just as upset if someone tried to take off with her hard earned money. The job’s he did were not easy and he at least deserved his amount.

“This is right,” He said as he stuffed it into his pocket, “It’s good to see that there’s still some trust worthy ghouls around here.” 

“Yes…But um, Takeo sir? Could I speak to you about something before you go?” Maybe he still hadn’t realized Ryo’s absence. He might have been a brute but he was still his father and deserved to know better then anyone that his son had gone missing. Well not missing, but was no longer serving under Aogiri.

“You want to speak with me? Is this about my next job? Alright spit it out.”

The bluenette sucked in her breath,

“Sir. It’s about Ryoichi.”

“Ryoichi…?” For a moment, the man almost crack a smile, “Well if it’s about him messing up another scout then I have no interest. Only success my dear.”

“No…” How dare he say that so casually? How dare he talk to her like that?! “No. He’s left Aogiri! I tired my best to get him back sir-!”

This was the first time she’d ever seen him give any real concern or reaction to anything in a long time. When she saw the look of shock take over his face his eyes nearly popped and a vein started to emerge from his head.

“He left? What on earth would make him do that?!”

“I don’t know…One day he was here the next he was gone.” _Lie_

“Well at least he did it with some grace,” Takeo stood up form his stead and paced the room a couple of times, “But this is bad news indeed. My son was never ghoul material, but it does impress me that he had the guts to leave…What a disrespectful son of a bitch.” The last part probably was not for her ears to hear, but she heard it anyways. Crystal clear.

“I believe he felt as though he were a drag.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“Yes sir.”

Takeo smiled,

“Let me ask you something. What do you think I do with the money I earn? I certainly don’t buy things with it, maybe a train pass once a year but nothing more,” The man mused as he wiped some dust of the top of the chair, his eye’s locked on hers, “I can tell that you don’t care for guessing so I’ll tell you, I put it away for him. I know he’s not strong like me, has no talent with his kagune, and over all is kinda pointless. I don’t know what you saw in him, but he’s still my only son and my only child. When I die, he’ll be the only Takeo alive. If he can’t depend on strength then at least he’ll have money to get by. I think he’ll come back.” He didn’t talk highly of his child apparently, but at the same time Hideyori was fighting inside to trust that the man had some sympathy; that was if he was being honest. 

“What do you plan on doing about this?”

“That’s the thing Ms. Shion, I don’t have a plan for this.” At least his smile was gone. He looked better when he wasn’t smiling, “This is my son after all, not a human I can beat the answers out of…I’ll have to lure them out – him out- Do you know where he is?”

“...” She moved her mouth almost like she was being controlled, she didn’t want to completely but she was, she was giving in like a dog to a bone! “Yes.”

“Then you’re my new best friend. I think I’ll hold off any new jobs and focus on this for a while. Care to join me? I’m sure you must have some things you’d like to ask him.”

_Things? What things?_

_Oh…So many._

“I do. I have…a few things.”

‘I’m sorry Ryoichi…but I need to know.

Why did you leave me here alone?’

\--

“Look look look look look! Look at the baby!” Brooke pointed towards a small, baby sea otter pup that was floating on top of the water in it’s zoo enclosure covering it’s eyes as if it were playing peak-a-boo with itself, “It’s so freakin’ cute.”

“Can’t we go somewhere else…?” Yusa yawned as he was sitting on the bench behind her; bored out of his mind.

With their lives being consumed by their work, it was only fair that every now and then they all took a day to have fun and relax. Today, many of the CCG investigators decided to all take a day out to the zoo together, that including the Brooke, Kitami, Koharu, Hairu and the zero squad kids. Carma said she felt ill that morning and Michiko was planning on going out with Mizurou later on. Juuzou wanted to come along to the zoo too but he had meetings that day that he couldn’t get out of, Hanbee wouldn’t let him.

For poor Yusa at this moment, he normally would have continued looking at the other exhibits if not for Kitami who was watching the otter exhibit with Brooke for the past hour. 

“Brooke, what do you like about the otter’s so much anyways?” Kitami asked as her own interest was starting to decrease. Even she couldn’t stare at something for that long, but her friend didn’t seem to look like she was going anywhere soon.

“You have to ask?! They’re small and fuzzy, they swim like pros, they make the cutest noises…have you even seen the videos on the internet of them eating lettuce?!”

“Otters have always been your favorite…do you still have that otter plush-“

“Shut it Kitami! That’s our secret!” Brooke might’ve acted like a cool person most of the time, but in reality she was actually a sucker for cute things. She even had a stuffed otter that sat on her bed that she called Oscar, a childhood toy that no matter what she did she couldn’t get rid of it. Though she never spoke of this to anyone but Kitami, as she was afraid that if it got out her entire reputation would be debunked. Though the way she was cooing over the real animals right now may or may not already gave off that impression.

Sighing, the blonde had finally reached her limit as she started to play with one of the bows in her hair. 

"Well just don't take one home..." she then looked at Yusa, a little bit sympathetically. Poor kid waiting for them, “Yusa, want to go find the others? Maybe stop at the lion’s on the way? I’ve been looking forward to that at least.”

“Yeah. Sounds good.” He was happy that at least he wasn’t the one who offered to leave Brooke in her world of Otters. At least he could walk side by side with Kitami normally and not like he was an investigator. Even that was enough.

 

“Look Rikai,” Shio exclaimed as he stuck his hands inside the stingray tank, “Watch!” the boy laughed as one of the creatures came up to him and slapped his arms, splashing him in the process.

“You’re going to get cold if you keep getting wet…” His friend replied, observing how wet his arms and coat was from the continuous splashing.

“That’s right Shio,” Koharu commented from behind the two teens, Hairu not far behind, “its still winter and you might catch a cold if you get a chill.”

He looked thoughtful with his big green eyes; his own realization must have kicked in and immediately pulled out his arms to shake them dry. Though no sooner after did his relative have her hands in the tank as the creatures started to swim and splash her as well.

“Hairu…” Koharu shook her head, “Honestly.”

“What? I had to try it!” the pink haired woman laughed as a stingray hovered over her hands, slightly tickling her, “I wish Koori was here to try it too.”

“Nah, he’d probably be grumpy and stand in the corner.” Shio said and no one could argue. The zoo wasn’t his thing; he even said that to his sister and girlfriend directly. Still it didn’t stop Hairu from wanting to share her experiences with him, even if he didn’t want to.

They decided that after the stingrays they would head over to the rainforest section to warm up. While the two teens went to look at the reptile cages, the two women held back to talk for a while without having to worry about extra ears.

“So…how are things with my brother?” Koharu asked, “he doesn’t tell me much about anything these days unless I force it out of him.”

Hairu didn’t reply right away and had to ponder on her thoughts for a few moments to collect her words, 

“You know Koharu…Ever since I started dating him things have…changed.”

“Changed? What do you mean…?”

“Well…It’s like I’m getting to see a new side to him that I never knew was there. It’s not always obvious or straight foreword but the way he treats me is so sweet. Sometimes he’ll drop nice compliments – he’ll even do it in front of other people now! – and every week he leaves a surprise on my desk! Sometimes melon buns, sometimes flowers, But the best part is that he tells me that he loves me,” She then urged for Koharu to come closer so she could whisper, “and he’s really great in bed too-“

“Whoa! TMI!” while she found it funny to joke about her brother’s sex life to get a laugh, hearing it from his girlfriend made her feel more nauseated then anything. Still Hairu looked happy so what was there to complain about? It sounded like he was treating her right. She wanted to give him a pat on the back for being a man for once.

“But…”

“But what?”

“I wish…I wish he’d smile more and have fun. Sometimes he just seems so disengaged from everything and I really do feel like he’s going to regret it one day when he can no longer do these fun things. Like go to the zoo with us.” Hairu had a point, it was a rare occasion for Ui to ever smile and have fun. To him it was all business. As his sister, she would love to see him loosen up, not over alcohol, but out of having a good time with those close to him. But how could he do that if he closed the door before even looking inside?

“I share that wish with you. Even when he was younger he was like that…But Hairu, you should know that-“

“THERE YOU ARE! WE’VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU GUYS!” Kitami’s ringing voice cut Koharu short of finishing her sentence, but Hairu was persistent in knowing, 

“Koori what?”

“He-“

“Yusa! Look at you man!” Shio tuned out her voice out as well as the three kids were reunited again, “I see you’ve been working your charms.”

“No…we were just walked around the zoo looking for you.”

The raven-haired girl couldn’t continue her story now; it just wasn’t a good time,

“Let’s talk about this another day over coffee okay? It’s a long story…” it was clear by Hairu’s face that she wasn’t happy to be kept waiting, but it would just seem odd explaining in front of the kids and Kitami. It was too personal, “Alright…I see that Brooke’s still missing. How about we give her a call and head home okay?

A story about Ui…What did Hairu not know still? Actually she probably didn’t know a lot of things about him still…but what was so privet that Koharu couldn’t tell her openly? 

\--

He was used to being the errand boy to his partner. But Furuta didn’t care, in the end this would all be forgotten anyways…at least only if things went according to his plan; photocopying research notes was nothing. Most investigators were out for the day and the only one’s that were really in office were the special classes as well as a few associates, which is why he was so surprised to see Carma there by herself working. He didn’t know her well, but he’d been acquainted with her a few time’s before and from the way she talked to her physical body language, she didn’t seem to be ‘investigator worthy.’ Furuta had some time to spare and he knew how it felt to be alone…Even if she wanted to be.

_Don't feel guilty._

“Ah…Kimura is it?” He popped his head inside the office, but she was so into her work that she didn’t seem to notice.

No one ever noticed him.

Or maybe he got her name wrong…No he was sure that was it.

“Hello! Earth to Kimura!”

“What?!” She barked, “What do you- Who are you?”

“Furuta…”

“Oh…Oh it’s you!” At least she kind of remembered him, “Do you need something?”

“Why would you assume I need something?”

Carma looked at him raising a brow,

“Because you never talk to me unless you need a document…or something like that.”

“I’ll admit I’m hurt,” He managed to pull a smile, “Am I not allowed to speak with my coworkers in a friendly way?”

The pinkette shook her head in response before taking to her laptop again, 

“Not today you can’t, not with me anyways...” She didn’t want him there that was obvious and frankly he was tempted to leave as well. But she was acting strange, she was usually a much nicer person and would never chew on someone like this. What was she doing anyways? With his curiosity peaking, he walked inside the office a bit further and pulled up a chair in front of her desk. “I said you shouldn’t bother me today!”

“Hey, Why are you here by yourself anyways? I don’t see the rest of your team.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“You’re right it’s not. I’m sorry. Does this mean you’re catching up on work?”

“Yeah…”

 

What was this man doing here? Bothering her even after she requested to be alone. Carma had lied to her squad that she was feeling under the weather so she could get out of the zoo trip, though she would have liked to go and probably should’ve, she wanted to get some extra work done before she was to go into surgery tomorrow. Carma wanted to upgrade her Koukaku. She was going in behind Koharu’s back, but she had to become stronger and training just wasn’t working fast enough. She had to revenge Masaya…and for herself.

Her magenta eyes stayed locked on her screen, not bothering to look at the man who was sitting in front of her,

“Can you go, please?”

“Am I distracting you?”

“Yes!”

“Alright alright I’m going!” He held up his hands in the air in defeat and began to make his way to the door, “No need to shout, I was two feet away.”

Carma had to bite on her lip to keep herself from speaking, so hard that it started to bleed. But she was thankful that he was gone, now she could work without any more distractions. At least until she heard more voices coming from the doorway. When the pinkette looked up from her screen, she spotted Michiko and Mizurou from the Suzuya Squad walking past on their way down the hallway; probably going out somewhere together. Thankfully she didn’t see her in there other wise her lie would have been caught and probably would’ve gotten an ear full. But seeing those two side by side, talking, and smiling in a quirky way made the pit of her stomach turn and her heart ach.

“I once had that.” _That sweet love._ She could never be completely happy for Michiko, for Hairu, for any woman who'd found love, not when she had it stripped from her. 

Ghoul's take everything from us.

Standing up from her desk, she marched over to the door and shut it! Making sure to lock it from the inside so that no one else would be a bother. “Unfair…”


	12. Beast Of Burden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd upload this week's chapter a little early since I may or may not have time to upload Wednesday as I want to work on Ryoichi's profile and some other things this week. 
> 
> Please enjoy and as always, Thank you!

“Alright we’re heading out!” Masaya called as he and the 4 children were at the entrance of the café each getting on a light spring jacket as once a week during the later hours of the night, he’d take them to the park to play when they wouldn’t have to worry about any watching eyes, a system that had been working well for them considering.

"Bye Bye Touka!" Sayuri waved as the man urged her out the door. 

“Stay safe out there!” Touka called back as she handed a customer their beverage to-go, she trusted that Masaya would be able to keep low and in worse case act on the spot efficiently. Ryo would have liked to go too but today he was working a double shift in hopes that maybe his favorite customer might stop by, even by chance. He hadn’t seen her in a while, not since the holidays and now that it was the beginning of March, he was just waiting for her to stop in again.

“You’re day dreaming again!” Touka yelled,

“What…?”

“You’re spilling coffee!”

_Oh she was right._

He was so busy thinking about Koharu that he didn’t notice that he was over filling a cup to the point where it was starting to drip down the sides of the table.

“Gah! I’m s-sorry!” the redhead quickly scavenged for a cloth to clean up the mess but clearly a mop would’ve been a better option.

“What’s with you…?” Touka sighed as she also reached for a cloth to help clean up the mess, “You’ve been acting strange…getting enough sleep?”

Sleep? Nah he’d lost that a while ago. But that wasn’t the issue this time.

Suddenly, the bell above the door rang and Ryo instantly jumped to his feet – nearly slipping in the coffee puddle – to see who’d arrived; it wasn’t Koharu though.

“Oh…it’s just you.”

“Just me…?” Kanae scoffed as she made her way into the café, “god could you be any happier?” The woman took a seat at her usual place on the bar stool and glanced over the counter to see Touka and him back on their hands and knees cleaning the mess, she tried not to laugh.

“Don’t mind him,” The owner said as she got up to rinse her cloth, “he’s on his man period.”

“Hey!”

Once things were back in order, Ryo made a coffee for Kanae free of charge, rightfully so. Taking a careful sip, she eyed him as he started to wash some cups in the sink.

“Alright Prince Red-Locks, what’s you’re issue?” the purplette asked, “You’re acting pathetic, even for you.”

“It’s nothing, just having an off-day.”

“Try an off-month.” Nishiki chimed in as he came into the café and took a seat beside Kanae, “Dude you’ve been a stick in the mud. All you do is work and when you’re not working you sit in the café staring at the door. Waiting for a package?”

Ryoichi smiled a little bit and back away from his work to face his friends,

“Yeah…something like that.”

Nishiko glanced and Kanae and smirked, seemingly he’d caught on to the jest of what Ryoichi was sulking over. He could have some fun with this,

“Hmm...Short?”

“Kinda.”

“Blonde or Brunette?”

“Neither.”

“Formal or Casual?”

“Formal.”

“Flat or busty?”

“Inbet- …Hey I don’t- I mean-”

Nishiki just couldn’t help himself sometimes, but Ryo was such an easy target. Though it was certain that he was embarrassed because his face was starting to turn as bright as his hair.

“Relax man it’s all fun and games…I didn’t think you had a lady in your life! Trying to get laid?”

“What no…! Well, yeah…But I just want…to get to know her before that…I mean.”

“Aw come on it’s easy, just talk real sweet and-“

“Shut up! How old are you, 9?!” Kanae wanted to smack both of them over their heads but that would mean she’d risk spilling her coffee, “Grow up.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“So you have a crush…” She looked directly at Ryoichi this time as her red eyes scanned him in a critical manner, “Is it…on that human? That girl you told me that came to your Christmas party?” Kanae had seen her before the party on one occasion. She was surprised that he was interested in someone like that girl, especially for a bigger more _obvious_ reason.

“Yeah her! Ui-chan.“

“If it is you need to give it up.” 

“What?” What did Kanae mean he had to give it up? How could he give up on something he just starting seeing as a steady purpose for himself? Even from those few brisk times he’d seen her come in and they’d have small talk she seemed like such a cool person, a much cooler then he’d ever be. She was good on the eyes too which didn’t hurt but what he really liked was the way she made herself out to be; uncertain yet confident. She was a human, yes, but he could get over that in a heartbeat…Perhaps she’d get over that he was a ghoul too.

“Are you serious!?” Kanae shook her head, “She’s a fucking dove!”

“I didn’t know that…How do you know?”

“Ryoichi are you that stupid?” Kanae slammed her cup down just hard enough so it wouldn’t break and Ryoichi literally almost felt the urge to hide under the table. When Kanae was mad no one stood a chance, “She stinks of the CCG and have you ever noticed her ID badge when she pulls out her wallet to pay?!”

“No!”

“Sorry but I have to agree,” Nishiki cut in, “I dated a human once and least to say it’s hard to manage to keep a secret! In your case you never know when she might want to turn against you or lure you into a trap. I was lucky, I didn’t have to worry because in turn she returned my feelings and promised to keep my identity a secret. If this Ui girl was just a human I might have supported your school-boy crush.”

A Dove. Her scent was easy to overlook considering he hardly paid attention as he was usually too focused\ on her face. Same with her ID, why would he even be looking in her wallet in the first place?  
Risky? Yeah this was but…he couldn’t help himself. She’s been taking up his thoughts for months now and at first he tried to ignore them but he couldn’t.  
I think I might be in love

“I’m sorry but…” one of his hands reached up to rub the back of his neck and his gaze averted theirs, “I don’t think…It’s that easy to just stop having feelings for her. Dove or not I still want to get to know her. I think that maybe the two of us-“

“You can’t be serious!” The purplette argued, “A ghoul and a dove. I’m not saying that it’s never been done before, what I’m saying is that it’s never worked out! In the end someone will die.”

“But Kanae…I’d eat human food if I had to so she’d think I’m human.”

“That only works for so long,” Nishiki warned, “She’ll find out eventually.”

“Then maybe by that point she’ll accept me.”

A long pause kept the café still, no one moved, nothing but the dripping of a leaky sink. Perhaps they were trying to believe his words and it might work for him, or for the fact that the chance of it not succeeding was too high.

Kanae clicked her tongue,

“Well if you want to get yourself killed then be my guest. When she sends you to your death don’t come crying to me. I won’t help you.”

“I would never ask you too. I know what I want to get myself into and this isn’t something I’ll involve the rest of you in.” he said, regretting it soon after. He knew that he would be in trouble if things took a turn for the worst.

“You’re fucking insane.”

“I was too at one point,” Nishiki pipes in as he pushes his glasses up his nose, “But there’s no fun without risk I suppose. Besides if he lives, Ryoichi can say he slept with a dove. How many ghouls could say that?”

“Hey I’m not in it for the sex! I told you that I want to get to know her first!”

“If you wait then it’ll be too late. Maybe you’re a virgin, that’s why you’re scared.”

“Shut up you dogs!” clearly Kanae had reached her limit for the day and Ryo didn’t blame her as he watched her take her leave mumbling something in germen.

Coming up behind him, Touka placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled, a sad but beautiful smile.

“I understand how it feels…it’s not easy having a love for someone in another place. But the heart wants what the heart wants, it just comes down to you being able to communicate those feelings you know.”

What was she talking about? How would she relate?

“But you should know that…as long as you’re aware of what you could be getting into – and that you love her - then I’ll support whatever choice you make. So long as you’re careful.”

“Thanks Touka...” He would have hugged Touka if not for Nishiki sitting right there with a smug look on his face, god he was annoying.

Honestly Ryoichi had no actual plan or idea to how he was going to come across to Koharu yet, would he be direct the next time they met? Or would he keep it shallow and work it up to a point. It was never this hard with Hideyori.

“Does anyone else know about this?”

“I’ve mentioned it to Masaya before-“

“Oh great, he has a man-diary too?” Nishiki joked before really getting smacked on the head by Touka.

\--

The Villa was usually the void of life when all 5 of its residents were there at once. But with the preparations getting ready for the upcoming rose operation in a few months no one wanted to stay up late anymore, they were finally starting to realize what being a real investigator was all about; to have their heads in the right place and get rest when possible instead of playing games and drinking.

One might think the house was abandoned by the lack of noise. But this was to be short lived once Koharu’s phone started to ring on her bedside table; she was so tempted to turn it off to silent but already knew she’d receive hell from the person she’d cut off the next day.

“Oh my god who is calling me…?” Grumbly, she lifted her head out from under her pillow and took a look at the number: _Akira?_ Well that was something she didn’t expect but if she was calling at this hour it must have been important.

 

“EVERYONE UP AND AT IT!” There was no time to waist! The beta just might get another break through, “Come hurry!” Their squad leader marched along the hall way and stepped into each of their rooms to get them to shift.

“What the fuck Koharu…?” Brooke groaned as she wiped a bit of droll off her chin and slipped on her glasses, “It’s like 3 in the morning…”

“I know but we have a mission! Now come!”

“Really…? Fine. Let me find a pair of pants first…”

Koharu easily woke up Kitami but she left Carma to rest as she was still recovering from surgery. Apparently she got an upgrade by personally asking the bureau to sign in place, something she’d wished Carma would have talked to her personally before hand.

“Michiko, get up-!” She knocked on the door before stepping inside to see another lump under the bed, “Is that you Tamaki…?”

“Hmm…?” Her suspicions were correct as a messy haired Mizurou Tamaki half way sat up from the bed, squinting from the light that was being shot in his face from the light of the open door.  
Koharu was still trying to get used to seeing him in their house, not to mention Michiko has been more inconsistent with either staying at their Villa or the Suzuya squad's house. But that’s just what happens when a squad member gets a boyfriend and in her ways, Koharu was happy that her teammate found someone she was passionate about considering her past. Though Koharu was more surprised to see them both halfway naked, “Oh, sorry I didn't realize-”

“Koharu!” Michiko yelled as she covered her bare chest with the blanket, parts of her make-up from yesterday was smudged around parts of her eyes creating what looked like too black holes in her face. Yet he still looked at her like she was a perfectly shined diamond, “Go away!” 

“Sorry Sorry!” She said as she started to close the door trying to hide a defeated smile, “Just be ready in 5…You can stay there Tamaki…”

 

Once all 4 members were dressed, though a little out of it from lack of breakfast and coffee, were making their way outside and down the streets behind their leader.

“Where are we going?” Kitami asked as she covered a yawn, “A mission you said?”

“You’ll never believe what Akira told me! Apparently that ghoul who we were supposed to get under the subway has been spotted again!”

“The one with the kids?” Brooke asked

“Yeah him! They’ve been seen at a park just down yonder, they’ve been seen there only at night and now is our chance to strike all of them at once.”

“Too bad we’re missing a body though,” Kitami noted to their missing pinkette, “she’s gotten strong! Remember how many she got that time?”

It was hard to forget such a scene, Carma really made a dent that night and frankly Koharu wasn’t sure they would have made that same progress without her that night. But her group has gotten better as a whole, they’re better fighters now as well as having better communication skills so she has faith in their abilities this morning.

“Is that it, over there?” Michiko pointed towards a faintly lit playground where a man was with 4 children, what person brings kids to a park at this hour?

“Looks like it,” their squad leader prepped them into getting their Kagune’s ready as they slowly made their approach.

\--

“Look at me!” Auralee chirped as she walked on top of the monkey bars as if it was a walking beam, but her brother wasn’t far behind.

“This is child’s play. How about climbing a tree?” He pointed towards a large ever green the was close by, “Last one to the top has to eat a sandwich.”

“Gross…but you’ll be the one eating it little brother!”

“Careful!” Masaya called as Sayuri went down a slide and into his muscular arms, her twin not far behind, “I don’t need you to fall…”

“We’ll be fine!”

“I hope so.” He said as he rubbed the twins heads, “but sandwiches are good you know…I used to like them.” There were so many days that he went where he’d forget that he once was a human. He missed eating all the different kinds of food, the ability to roam freely and not have to watch his back all the time. He especially missed Carma…but he never wanted her to see him this way, she’d probably hate him and that in itself would be worse then death.

But even when the older kids were farther away, Masaya could still pick up sounds…sounds that were starting to come closer; footsteps. Quickly, he ushered the twins into a tube under the slide and stood by to see what it was that was coming. He dared not to make a sound and even now he couldn’t hear Auralee and Kennedy anymore. Just when he was about to retrieve the girls, something suddenly shot out of nowhere! Something swift and sharp like an arrow pierced into the ground. When he paused to look at it, he was sure it was ice…no that couldn’t be…it was-!

“Holy!” Holding down his hat, Masaya had to jump away as more of the shards started to come out from the darkness, some thick and some thin but all were sharp and nearly clipped him a few times. Thankfully his hat was still safe too. Pulling his mask out from his pocket, he quickly placed it on his face and glanced around for the person responsible.

“You got lucky last time…” A young woman’s figure started to emerge from the darkness and into the light of one of the lamps. Behind her were wings of a flowing river and a single black eye. She licked her lips and rolled up her sleeves, “Boy you’ve stayed low for a long time. Too bad though…”

“I assure miss…I have no idea who you are and how you know me exactly,” He replied, closing his eye for a moment so that he could urge himself the strength to unleash his Bikaku, both of his eyes were black and veins scattered along his face, “Just remember, you attacked first.”

“KITAMI!”

He didn’t even have a moment to see before tails of a Rinkaku came dashing towards him in a hammer-like motion, however he was swift enough to avoid that attack and scamper towards a tree as the two woman started to circle around him. Shit they were fast! The only option he had was to flee into the darker area of the park where he could try and cut loose from them.

“He’s running Kitami!”

“I’ve got this!” the blonde confirmed, "I'll be able to see him."

“I’ll back you up!” Shouted Michiko who started to race after her teammate, leaving Koharu and Brooke to scout for the children.

It was no use for Masaya, he couldn’t outrun the two! They just kept up with him the entire time and didn’t seem to be effected by the dark. Boldly, he tried to attack them both at once but hadn’t been able to control his Bikauku properly! 

“OH! That was close! Nearly took my off nose there!” Kitami laughed as she attempted to hit him in return, even managing to slice into part of his leg. Fuck!

“You’re not as tough as you look you know…I’m disappointed really.” Michiko sighed as she mused over a next chance at attack. Damn it, it only occurred to him that he left the twins under the slide! The older two might still be hidden in the tree but little ones were defenseless! He had to get back to them!

The one thing he was good at was the maneuvering of his body and was able to act quickly once he saw open space and now that they gave him a small opening he was able to break through their corner and back towards the playground.

_Please_

_Please_

_**Please** _

But by the time he arrived…he was too late. There lying on the ground were two small bodies that were lifeless and over top of them was Brooke and Koharu, their hands drenched in blood.

_It's you._

He recognized the investigator with raven black hair…that was the girl that Ryo introduced him to at Christmas; the one he said he liked.

“NO!” Masaya wanted to retrieve their bodies to see if there was a chance at the twins still being alive, but even he knew that would be foolish because then they’d have him cornered from all sides, “How could you kill children like that?! What have they ever done?”

“They’re just a guilty as you!” Brooke said as she tried to wipe away a blood smear on her face.

“Anyone who consumes human flesh deserves to die,” Koharu said as she glanced down at the twins bodies, “That’s just how the world works I guess, kill or be killed. In this case it’s the monsters that will be on the chopping block.”

“I think you’re the monsters here,” he said as he began to back away, the inside of his mask becoming increasing hot with ever breath taken, “It wasn’t their fault that they were born that way, they never asked to be ghouls!”

“Then what about you…?” the brunette asked as her water wings started to flair up again,

“I’m just unlucky I guess,” But he was at least thankful it was him in this situation and not his beloved; if it wasn’t for him she’d be the one in his shoes right now, “But for love, I’d easily give my life if I had to.”

“Shut up,” The raven-haired investigator said sharply, “This talk is pointless. A ghoul can’t love nor can it be loved, that’s just fact.”

Bullshit that a ghoul can’t love. Masaya had nothing but love surrounding him since being at :re, Touka, Ryoichi, Yomo, Kanae, The kids, and even Nishiki – not to mention the countless ghoul customers that came to she shop daily. They all cared about each other and in return he did about them. None of them wanted this, none of them wanted to be a ghoul. He could blame luck all he wanted but Masaya knew that there was no such thing.

He had to get out of there; he had to at least be able to save the other two if they were still alive. Using the strength and anger of his loved one’s Masaya was able to gather himself enough strength and will-power to allow himself to use his Kagune at full strength and immediately attacked Koharu and Brooke in his path, getting a clear hit on Brooke and sending her into the base of a tree.

“GAH!”

_I’m sorry._

From behind him, he easily suspected Michiko coming close and acted before she even had a chance to attack him first, though she dodged him and got in close enough to kick him in the stomach and sent him back a few feet. Of course he wouldn’t let her do that again and managed to just get close enough so that he could kick under her feet and shove her hard enough so that she collided with Kitami injuring them both against some of the equipment.

_I’m sorry._

The last one standing was their leader,

“Remember…you all attacked first,” He said staring at her unnerved, “Because you’re the last one standing I’ll give you the option to get out alive; a present that you can take or leave.”

“I signed up to give my life away for humanity if I had to. If I walked away, I’d be killed anyways.” She almost seemed to laugh, “You might have been able to take down my squad but I assure you I won’t be as easy to target…”

The girl was cocky; she almost didn’t seem like the same person he met a little while ago. He didn’t want to hurt anyone else, but they killed the twins and he already felt like a failure as a guardian. He promised that they’d be safe and there they were, their bodies’ cold and soaking in a pool blood. Clenching his fists, Masaya picked up his pace and raced towards her, seeing a clear opening to her stomach that he could easily hit, though something came out from the side that he’d somehow failed to see. Something like a scorpion tail pierced his thigh and he felt something burst inside like an injection. Though it burned for a moment, within seconds the lower part of his body gave way and he felt paralyzed from the hips down. Collapsing to the ground he bit his lip to keep from shouting.

“Neat trick, isn’t it?” The woman said as she approached him, showing the thing that attached it’s self to his leg, “Sadly it’s only temporary…If my kagaune was upgraded a couple more stages then it could easily kill you…but that would mean I’d have to become a ghoul like you; I wouldn’t want that.”

“Damn you…” his breath was short, he might not have been able to feel anything but it still felt like all his organs were falling inside him, he thought he just might cry “Why…? Why would you…?” 

“Like I said…you’re a monster.”

“Yeah….? Well monsters want to live too you know…we have families and friends like you…We’re the same, can’t you see?”  
For a moment, she seemed like she was actually listening and even tilted her head to the side as if to look him over to see if he was being honest. Maybe some more convincing was needed,

“I’m as good as dead here right…? I mean by the time dawn breaks I’ll be found here next to two children’s bodies…. they’ll kill me anyways, do you want the blood on your hands?”

“Real funny…But I already have blood on them. Yours won't make a difference."

Damn it, what was he going to do?! Closing his eyes he waited fro impact and the end of his life…but why hadn’t it come? Looking up, he could no longer see the investigator standing – no – she was on the ground next to him out cold! What?!  
Weakly, he glanced back up to see a faint figure standing over him,

“Yomo?”

“Let’s go!” the man said and to Masaya’s relief, Auralee and Kennedy were behind him, “Come on!”

“Yomo!” Masaya grunted, taking his mask off to breath, “I can’t stand!”

With the little time the investigators may remain unconscious, Yomo was left with no choice but to miraculously lift the other man over his shoulder and carried him towards :re, thank god they weren’t too far!  
But all Masaya wanted to do was cry,

_And he did._


	13. What A Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my  
> This is a busy chapter, so much is circling around in all perspectives! 
> 
> Make love not war my friends! ;)
> 
> I'm going to be heading out on vacation for the next couple of weeks but I should still be updating as per usual unless further noticed.

_Did I get him?_

_I got him right?_

_Another step_

_Another advantage._

_Maybe now mother and father will see - Koori will see that I’m…_

 

There was a crunching sound coming from close by, but in this darkness it was hard to pin point exactly where.

“Hmm…” Koharu’s body felt so heavy by the time she woke up, her eyelids squinting from the bright room and to have Kitami right in her face! “HEY!”

“AH! She’s awake!” the blonde exclaimed as she bounced back to glance at the rest of her squad that was surrounding her bedside; Koharu soon discovering that the crunching sounds were coming from a bag of chips that Brooke was eating.

Bedside?

“What’s going on-?!” Koharu sat up so quickly that she nearly passed out again, her head felt like someone had smacked it over the side numerous times.

“Whoa take it easy now,” Michiko said as she helped her squad leader lean back carefully into the bed, “No need to rush.”

As she glanced at all of her teammates, she could see that they too had all been injured one way or another…the fight with that man that was wearing that strange mask and hat…Cowboy.

“Everyone…?”

“We’ll be alright, don’t worry about us,” Brooke said as she confidently pulled her arm out of its sling, “See, we’re healing. Check it!” And then she lifted up part of her hospital gown to show a large bandage that wrapped around her waist all the way up to her bust, “Want to see the bruise? It’s blue and green!”

“No thanks…” she then glanced over at Kitami who’s breathing seemed to be irregular from what she could hear and see by the way she uncomfortably sat, “How are you doing?”

“Michiko broke two of my ribs when she crashed into me!” she replied as she puffed out her cheeks like a little kid.  
Michiko looked offended,

“I didn’t do it on purpose! Besides your Rinkaku sliced into my arms like a grater to cheese!” She said as she showed off her arms that had numerous stitches, though they were already nearly healed.

This was just the advantage of these ghouls’ powers; the ability to heal quickly had saved them more then once already. Normal humans would surly still be in critical care.

“Thanks for showing me all your battle scars…” Koharu said in a sarcastic way, “But…What happened? How long was I asleep?”

“Not too long,” Kitami reassured as she reached out and was already starting to braid a piece of Koharu’s hair, “Just about five of days…!”

“Five days?!”

Five whole days, that was almost a week; she was probably behind on everything at work now. To make it worse, she couldn’t even remember the mission in it’s entirety…did she even kill that ghoul?

“Don’t fret about that, you're body obviously needed it,” Michiko said as she place a hand on her friend’s leg to reassure her, “besides you’ll be fine with your work ethic. You know, once we get out of this place I’m buying everyone a round of drinks!”

“Why wait?!” Brooke exclaimed as she proudly pulled a wine bottle from under her chair, displaying it like a trophy, “quick Kitami, fetch those cups over there!”

“Where did you get that?”

“This? Just a little something I found lying around…You have a real nice boyfriend, Michiko. He’s so thoughtful!”

“BROOKE!”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the hospital door and standing there was Carma with a pretty bouquet of flowers and a friendly smile, behind her was Shirazu, Saiko and the zero squad kids!

“I told you she wouldn’t die! Am I right?!” Shio exclaimed as he pounced down onto the end of the bed to take a seat. Rikai and Yusa were okay standing next to Kitami.

“But Shio, weren’t you crying just last night thinking that she was dead?” Yusa teased, bumping Rikai’s shoulder.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” he shook his head though his expression gave himself away with rose-red cheeks. 

“Hi there…? Are you okay now Haru-nee?” Carma had seemed to be doing well from her surgery by the way she walked.

Koharu was still bitter that she did it behind her back but it was too late now, she’d just need to keep extra attention on her incase she did something like that again.  
She smiled to her squad member and the other guests,

“Yeah I’m okay. Just a bit dizzy - probably from the drugs they put in me.”

The pinkette laughed and pulled up a chair to sit with her rowdy squad. Brooke gladly took the pleasure of opening Michiko’s wine - hitting Shirazu in the head with the cork. However, in the end no one ended up drinking it as a nurse informed them that they couldn’t drink with their medication yet and told them to put it away.

With Brooke showing off her bandages again, this time to Saiko and her – now official – boyfriend Shirazu, the door was knocked on again and this time someone they didn’t expect showed up.

“Doesn’t look like any of you should be in here anymore. You look fine to me!”

“Well well well, it’s special class bowl cut!” Saiko snickered, though Shirazu shook his head as to protest to her saying that to their superior. Koori Ui looked at all the people in the room, his gaze carefully examining each of them before landing on that of his sister’s.

She smiled at him,

“Koori-bro. So nice of you to stop in, I would get you a tea but um, I’m bedridden.”

“No need for jokes, I come here for business.” He said, hinting that the rest of the people in the room should give them some space for a few minutes.

With Michiko ushering the lot out, Ui pulled up a chair to Koharu’s bedside and handed her a fairly heavy folder,

“Here, I brought you a present.” He said, “paper work.”

“How thoughtful…” she said placing it on her bedside table intending look at later, but her brother placed it back in her lap to insist that she reads it now.

“No, seriously, open it.”

“Fine-“ But as she opened the folder, it wasn’t reports or profiles that fell out; instead it was some insightful details on the rose operation. Ui, being Ui, had certainly planned it all out thoroughly to a scale of what was to happen, location and time. However, no operation ever worked out perfectly but this certainly gave Koharu a good idea of what was to unfold, “Oh, we’re not with the other QS?”

“No, I want you to be working with the S1 squad,” Ui pointed towards their names on the list, “I think you’d all do better with us. Sasaki and his group would just…”

“Mess us up?”

“…”

Koharu laughed, 

“When did you start thinking so highly of me?”

“I d-didn’t! I just don’t want you getting hurt on Sasaki’s account!” Ui lowered his head so that his sister wouldn’t start teasing him for having a red face. But she already saw it,

“Aww Koori-bro, are you worried about me? Well please don’t be, I can handle myself just fine! It wouldn’t matter who you put me with we’d still get the job done!”

“You sure? You couldn’t even finish this one…”

Koharu had to admit that him saying that hurt her a little. That must have meant that she didn’t kill the Cowboy…she just got two of the kids. Puffing out her cheeks, she turned her face away childishly just like Kitami had done to her, 

“Hey it was like 4 in the morning and I didn’t have breakfast yet! Give me a break!”

“No I won’t give you a break, you’re an investigator therefore you should be ready at anytime!”

“You’re so mean Koori!” She said as a smile faught it’s way onto her lips. She knew he was being serious but sometimes she just couldn’t see him that way, “Oh well…At least I get to fight with Hairu, I don’t think I’ve ever been on an operation with her directly before so this will be exciting! Oh, where is Hairu anyways, she didn’t come with you?”

“She-“

“You’re awake!” Hairu must have had super hearing or something. The cherry pinkette opened the door and in her hand was a bag, “How are you? Sorry I’m late I wanted to get you a present!”

“I’m still kicking. Thanks for asking!”

Then Hairu placed the mystery bag in Koharu’s lap, oddly weightless.

“I brought you some melon buns as a little get-well present…but they sort of disappeared in my mouth on the way here.”

_Of course._

But Koharu wasn’t mad at all, she was happy actually since melon buns were often too sweet for her taste; but the thought was nice, just like her. Ui pulled up another chair for his girlfriend to sit next to him by the bed; giving her a strange glance as if urging her to say something, then Hairu’s face suddenly saddened or at least dropped a bit.

“Umm…While we have you alone Koharu, there’s something…we should tell you,” Ui said, reaching to take hold of Hairu’s hand as her glance started to avert to the floor, “But before we do…can you promise us that you won’t say anything to anyone else?”

“What? I mean, did you propose and want to keep that a secret too?” the raven haired girl meant that as a joke, but instantly after she glanced to Hairu’s empty ring finger and her brother’s disappointed expression she realized that was a mistake; okay so this was no time for jokes, “I’m sorry…”

“I’m serious Koharu! We’re telling you because we trust you! Act like you do!”

“Alright I’m listening. I won’t say a word.”

Honestly these two and their secret keeping. In her fantasies, Koharu always thought that being in love was expressive and that you’d want to express that passion with the one’s around you; but not these two. Her brother was so strict on keeping low about it and she couldn’t understand why, she saw why because of their age gap, even then age was just a number.

Ui squeezed Hairu’s hand and she could hear her quickly suck in her breath as she lifted her head to look at her, those green eyes of hers were glossy,

“I’m pregnant.”

\--

“You sent her wine I see…” Keijin Nakari said as he approached his fellow squad member when he walked into their office, Mizurou raised a brow confused,

“How do you know?”

“You placed the receipt on my desk by mistake,” He sighed handing it to him, “Along with some flowers and a stuffed cheetah. Wow.”

“It was a jaguar and what do you mean by ‘wow’? Am I not allowed to spoil my girlfriend?” Mizurou snatched the receipt from his friend’s hands and stuffed it away in his pocket only to be applauded by Miyuki Mikage,

“I didn’t know you were a hopeless romancer?”

“Oi!”

“Just wait till she experiences his pudding-opening skills. Then she’ll run to the hills!” Juuzou teased as he stuck a lollipop in his mouth with a large, cheeky grin on his face,

“Suzuya-san, not you too!”

“Relax, it’s all in good fun. We’re happy for you that you’ve found someone…You’ve seemed a bit happier.”

In all truth, Mizurou’s always wanted to be in a relationship but had never found a suitable partner. He’d dated a couple of girls in the academy, but none really worth his time. Then after joining the CCG he’d been so dedicated to his training that working in time for a girlfriend was nearly impossible! Then the day he met the Quinx Squads, there was this one girl that perked his interest, a girl that seemed to be out of this world. She was beautiful, smart, and confident; she might have been a bit of a snob but that was easy to overlook. Michiko Ayase, what was someone like her doing in this place of death? He didn’t talk to her back then because honestly he was intimidated; she already had a grip on things on her first few weeks of arrival and was already working out topnotch strategies. He might have been part of the Suzuya Squad but she probably would still overlook him.

It was one night when he’d returned home from shopping with Keijin that he discovered her in their house; she’d come over to stargaze with Miyuki through his big telescope! But best of all, she noticed him on her own and was the first one who started a conversation with him. She made note of the bag from a jean-store that he purchased from and that he'd accidentally purchased a pair of woman's jeans by mistake. He'd never been so embarrassed and yet she teasingly complimented his taste and he ended up giving her the pants as she said she would be able to shrink them down to her size. That was their first laugh that they shared and in the moment he even had the 4 am courage to ask her to hang out at sometime. It might have been a minor start, but it all kicked off from there, a simple encounter by chance. Mizurou was still yet to thank an oblivious Miyuki.

But life as an investigator is never certain, being in love made it that much harder. They were both still in their early twenties, but their lives could be stripped from them at any moment and it broke his heart to think that just when he was sure that he found the love of his life that he could loose her in an instant; even before he could confess all the words he needed to say to her. There was still so much he didn’t know about her, but so much he wanted to learn. That’s why Mizurou Tamaki was starting to consider tying the knot sooner then later.

Taking a seat at his desk, he tapped his fingers on the table as to collect his thoughts and consider his options. Marriage certainly wasn’t a rare thing in the CCG, especially in the young adults as many were aware of how quickly life was stripped. But just because he wanted to marry…did she?

“…Do you think I should ask her to marry me?” He asked the question rather casually, a little too casually for the reality of the situation.

“What?!” Hanbee nearly chocked on his water and the rest of the group just about did the same. 

“But, you’ve only been seeing each other for a few months!” Miyuki said, “That’s a little speedy.”

“I agree…You shouldn’t jump the gun so fast…” Keijin shook his head, “Nothing good comes from rushing things, especially into a marriage!”

“I know but…I think she’s the one. Michi respects my flaws and me as I do for her…I could see us growing older together and getting stronger as a pair. I want to be by her side and protect her on and off the field…Even if she doesn’t want me to. I know it sounds insane, but you all know as well as me that our lives are never certain to last, we can fight all we want and still die!” Mizurou looked at the other four men in the room, not one of them showing the same reaction and he couldn’t blame them; he did sound like a lunatic, “I just want to make the commitment before I die and I couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone but her…I guess it’s going off a whim or a sheer feeling but I think we could make it work.”

The Suzuya squad shared glances with each other not knowing what to say at first. He did love Michiko, none of them could deny that, but this was not something to take lightly; this would mean that one of their men would become grounded in a new way.

“If it’s really what you want you should go for it,” Juuzou said as he tossed the lollipop stick in the trash, his group staring at him as if he had two heads! “I mean you’re right about that our lives are restricted and we should act when we get that feeling. So if you want to run away and get married before you die I say by all means. As long as you stay focused here I don’t really care. Besides having something to fight for will make you stronger, I know I am as I fight for Shinohara.”

Something to fight for…Mizurou never considered that before in this context of love. Yes he fought for his friends and their wellbeing but in ways Michiko was different. She was strong and yet he wanted her to be able to lean on him. Love would give him more strength…more determination.

“Suzuya-senpai!” Hanbee cried as he threw his arms around their superior who seemingly hugged back,

“You know, under that perspective...I agree too!” Miyuki says, gazing off into his own thoughts, “Maybe the stars are aligned for you and fate shall be your guide.”

Seemingly everyone in the room had agreed to Mizurou’s proposal and in all honesty he was quite relieved. The only one who didn’t say anything was Keijin, he just glared at his squad member almost in distaste. But Mizurou easily overlooked it assuming that he was worried that he wouldn’t be working as hard if he had a wife, he really didn’t have to worry. But Juuzou was right, perhaps having a family would only motivate him to do better, give him a bigger reason to fight and kill ghouls until there were no more left.

Now the really hard part was about to begin,

_Finding the ring then popping the question._

\--

Strangely, Koharu heard those words crystal clear and yet she still didn’t understand right away. Without saying a word her jaw dropped, but no words came out as she looked back and fourth between the two in front of her. Obviously she could assume what had happened, this most likely wasn’t planned, but she couldn’t believe it. Hairu wasn’t even showing that much yet, but then again she was only 8 weeks.

“Oh…!”

“I know it’s a shock, we didn’t mean for it to, it just-!”

“No no I’m happy for you guys!” Oh no. She really hoped her first reaction didn’t give them the wrong message that she was disappointed in them, that wasn’t the case at all, “It’s just - are you two happy?”

Ui and Hairu glanced at each other in silence again, so she was going to assume that they didn’t know what to say, perhaps this wasn’t the time to have asked them that so soon?

“Well under our circumstances,” Ui started, his perfect hair starting to frizz a little bit, “It’s going to be a difficult thing to bring up to the board…But not just that, this is going to be a problem that we won’t be able to hide, people will find out.”

**No kidding**

“Being an investigator is hard as it is,” Koharu said as she reached out to take hold of Hairu’s other hand, “I can’t imagine how you both must feel right now…but are you planning on keeping the child?”

“Of course!” Hairu said in a loud, emotional voice that even Ui nearly jumped from his seat, “How could you ask such a thing?! I’m not getting rid of it, not a chance! It deserves to live just as much as anyone else… I might be- I’m…I’m not-“ The more she tried to talk the more her words got blurred out by her voice crackling by her tears. Ui looked pained her like this. “I just want to be the one to raise it – me and Koori! No abortion, no adoption!” Koharu had never seen the pinkette cry like this before and it made her feel just as bad. Perhaps this wasn’t the time to be tossing in her humor but she had to do something then sit there and let the poor girl cry her eyes out.

Smiling she said,

“Well you know Hairu…that makes me really happy because I’ve always wanted to be an auntie you know and now it looks like I’ll have my chance,” For a moment, she looked up with her face damp from her tears. Koharu continued, “And I’ll be more then happy to babysit for you guys whenever you need me, like when you need a break or a date night or whatever. Oh and I can assure you that I’m going to spoil that kid rotten; just a warning.” This made Hairu smile a little bit and she sat up to wipe her tears from her eyes, Ui giving his sister a proud smile in return.

“Thank you…That would mean a lot, the babysitting part I mean!”

“Of course,” Soon a nurse had stopped in to check in on Koharu and least to say was surprised to see the scene going on, “Tell you what, why don’t you and me get together soon and we can talk in privet…okay?”

 

As soon as she was released from the hospital, Koharu was quick to meet up with Hairu - or host her anyways - at the Villa. All the other girls were out for the day so their leader snagged the opportunity to safely have the conversation with her brother’s girlfriend as planned.

When she first arrived, Koharu was quick to notice the change in her friend from the moment she laid eyes on her. The usually happy, cheery Hairu was not there, she seemed down and even a bit sad. She smiled but yet had no real emotion. It could also just be from the fact that she threw up in the car on the way there.

“This is the first time I’ve actually been here,” The pinkette said as her eyes started to wonder around the living room at all the mismatched items, the pictures, and even the beanbag chairs, “It’s so nice that you girls do this…it’s so cool.” The pinkette’s fingers picked up a small photo on the mantle of a young Koori on a horse with an even younger Koharu. Cute.

Koharu pulled out a proper seat for her guest as getting out of those bean bag-things was sometimes a challenge for even a non-pregnant person.

“It’s home,” the raven-haired investigator said as she took a seat next to Hairu. Small talk was one thing, but how exactly was she going to ask her about the things she really wanted to know? Would she sound rude if she got straight to the point? “So…how are you doing?”

Hairu placed the photo down and for a moment she didn’t reply and just gazed out one of the large windows near by, Koharu almost felt the need the apologize, but there really wasn’t anything to apologize for.

“I don’t really know how I feel…if I’m being honest,” the pink haired investigator said, biting down on her lip with her gaze now to the floor, “I guess…I’m still trying to get it through my head that this is really happening…” Her voice cracked at the end as if she was on the verge of tears already. Koharu didn’t know what to do except put her around her and pull her close; she didn’t mean to make her cry- again!

“Oh Hairu I’m sorry!”

“It’s not you…I’m just…”

“If you don’t want to tell me that’s fine I mean…You must be going through enough.”

No kidding.

She and Hairu were practically the same age and she couldn’t picture being in her shoes, still so young and already an expecting mother. Koharu couldn’t even imagine the stress of that and on top of being an investigator and keeping up with those duties.

“No…I don’t mind telling you. You’re not just Koori’s sister, you’re also my friend so I trust you.” She said drying her eyes with her sleeve and taking a breath, “There’s not much to the story really. I mean…It happened the way it usually happens right? I mean, Koori and me have been snagging opportunities a bit…carelessly lately and well we messed up one night…you can assume that part.”

“Yes..”

“Then, just this month I was starting to feel off. I’ve been throwing up a lot and at first I thought that maybe I had the flu…but it wasn’t really going away so Koori took me to the clinic…and I found out there.”

Koharu looked thoughtfully at her friend beside her, mostly trying to pin point her emotions,

“And…how did you react?”

“At first…I didn’t say anything. It’s like it went in one ear and out the other as if I didn’t understand. I didn’t believe it. But when I got home that night and I was in bed I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t think straight, I couldn’t even dream. I was just there in the moment and once I started to think to myself and say ‘This is real’…I cried. Koori comforted me, he said he’d never leave me and that he’d protect us…but I still couldn’t be at ease…I’m still not!” She wasn’t yelling, but her voice started to rise the deeper she got into it like at the hospital, “the child…It already has a disadvantage at life…”

That was true, after all both of its parents were investigators and coming home was never certain, what a world to grow up in with ghouls. Hairu had every right to be worried or upset because if it were Koharu, she would be worried too; and she is for their sake. But this gave Koharu more motivation to rid the world of these creatures; her little niece or nephew deserved that much.

Too bad that she failed to notice that Hairu meant something completely different.

“Hairu...I know this must be hard for you and while I can’t speak from experience…I know that one thing is for sure…we’re going to kill them all. Every single ghoul will be gone, forgotten and rid of this world.”

“Yeah…?”

“Yeah! Just wait till the day I get my own quinque I’ll be getting them all one by one if I have to. I’ll even go hunting for fun!”

“Wait you still don’t have a quinque? Why don’t you just order one or-“

“Because I want the Cowboy.” Koharu said, thinking back to what she last remembered seeing of him, “I want him as my quinque. It’s more satisfying to have something if you earn it…Money doesn’t buy happiness, I know that much.”

Luckily she was finally able to crack a true smile from Hairu, that was a good feeling; even if she was the one to make her cry in the first place!

“But on the topic again...I want to let you know Hairu that…If there’s anything you ever need, company or whatever, you can always come see me if you want – If my brother’s being a dick to you just let me know, I’ll whoop his ass!” This earned her another array of laughs, “You might have Koori but you’re not alone when it comes to friends either.”

That was true in everyway, there were so many people who liked she, the Qs and the kids made note of it several times before. She wasn’t certain if Arima did or not and that pissed her off, the guy was such a dick for always brushing Hairu aside and deep down she’d always be resentful for that. Not that she’d ever tell Hairu that directly though. Koharu saying that she hated Arima would be considered a sin to the CCG.

“Thank you...”

“Are you crying again?”

“I can’t help it! It’s these damn hormones!”

Was it though? Maybe she really was touched for being loved, heck even Koharu was crying now!

Sometimes emotions were a pain, but she was glad to have them. Ghouls sure didn’t…how silly, a ghoul with feelings.

\--

“Hey, how are you doing big buddy?” Ryo came into the small bedroom carrying in a tray with a freshly brewed coffee to his bedridden friend, “Brought you something.” Masaya still hadn’t recovered from his last encounter with some doves…the one-eyes. His waist down was completely paralyzed and had been completely dependent on Ryoichi who’d been helping him do everything he used to be able to do on his own; it ashamed him to have to be looked after like this. What’s worse is that he’d hardly spoken about that night to anyone, especially about the kids who’d died. Because of this Touka had made sure to keep the remaining two children upstairs and out of sight from anyone incase they might have been seen. Masaya was just lucky he’d brought his mask that night or he could have put them all in jeopardy.

_Luck…Lucky to run into his best friend’s crush whom wanted to kill him; there was no luck in this world. He could hang all the horseshoes he wanted and still wouldn’t have anything._

Masaya was elevated by a large stack of pillows on the bed and gratefully took the cup into his hands. The coffee was good; Touka must have made it this time.

“It takes the edge off…” He said, his hands shaking a little as he placed it down, not once looking at his friend’s face, “She hasn’t stopped by?”

“No.” Ryoichi was aware of what happened, who’d showed up that night and secretly…he still didn’t hate her for it because in her eyes, she was probably doing what she thought was right. But if he ever said that Masaya would have his head, “it’s been pretty slow lately…”

“Doves are scouting the area…” A voice came from the door way, Touka and Kanae both made their way inside, “Everyone’s staying low for now so of course our numbers will be decreased for a while.”

“I’m sorry.” The broad man said out of assumption as Touka came to help him fluff his pillows,

“Don’t blame yourself Masaya…It’s a war, things like this are unfortunately part of the course.“

“Which makes this a clean cut, I want to show you something.” Kanae urged for Ryo to follow her as if they were to be going somewhere but he was still working his shift, he couldn’t just up and leave!

“I-“  
“Don’t worry I closed shop early today,” his manager explained as she put another blanket on Masaya’s feet, “You can go, I’ll take care of him while you’re out.”

“Oh…okay.”

“Hurry up dummkopf, I don’t have all day!”

Where was she taking him? His best guess was another weird shop or perhaps training. He really had no idea.

 

“Just keep quiet. I told him you were coming.” The two were walking for what felt like hours…but once they made it to this large estate they were walking through the most elaborate garden he’d ever seen in his life! He never knew things like this existed, all these daisies and tulips and plenty of roses. Carefully, he picked out a rose from one of the bushes – being careful not to prick himself- and handed it to Kanae trying to be a gentleman, only to have her gasp and get punched in the gut,  
“HOW DARE YOU PICK ONE OF MY ROSES!” she screamed, taking it into her hands like it would break, though it technically already was, “YOU UNCULTURED FOOL!”

“I-I didn’t know-” he coughed, “These are yours?”

“Part of the garden…yes.” Kanae placed the rose head into her jacket pocket, seeing as there was no other use for it now, “This is the Tsukiyama Estate, the home of my master.”

Ryo didn’t know much about the Tsukiyama’s nor did he know much about her ‘master’. Touka didn’t speak well of him and neither did Nishiki but Kanae spoke of him like a god. She did all his errands and spoke on behalf of his thoughts. Quite a noble way of showing admiration. Then again Touka also mentioned to him before that Kanae had a thing for this guy so it made sense.

Upon entering the estate, Ryoichi was nearly taken back by just the entranceway of the house; no way this was a real thing! No way was that large chandelier hanging by that thin rod! This house had to be his imagination!

“This way dummkopf!” She motioned for him to follow him up the stairs, but with his head looking up at the ceiling he easily bumped into someone,

“Sorry! My bad!”

This woman was rather sleek looking, dark bob and suit, a very pretty ghoul indeed.  
She lowered her head to him a little, though he backed away from her thinking that she must have been doing that to someone else.

“Don’t pay mind to him Matsume. He’s always like that.”

Kanae led him into a large bedroom where she called it ‘her master’s chambers’ to see – or rather to hear – the sounds of stuffled cries of pain. Was someone dying in there?

“Master Shuu…I’ve brought a guest who may know a thing or two about a one-eye.”  
Under the covers of the large bed was non other then Shuu Tsukiyama and he looked to be exactly as his friends described him to be…and Kanae liked this guy? As soon as Shuu looked at him, his bloodshot, crazy eyes widened and he sat up screaming,

“KANEKI?! YOU KNOW KEN KANEKI?!”

Kaneki…it sounded familiar but-

“No Master…But someone like Keneki. I thought that it might fit up to your taste…”

“Nothing will ever have a taste that is Kaneki! Rare and exotic, almost foreign!”

“No…but maybe something close…to take ‘the edge off the pain’. There’s a girl whom has a similar structure that’s close to his. Ryo knows her and could probably get ahold of her if you want.”

 _Her?_ Was Kanae talking about Koharu?! No Fucking way was he just going to feed her to this lunatic! He still has to tell her his feelings for her…But even before he could disagree Shuu already cut down the idea.

“If it’s not Kaneki then I don’t want it…sustenance is not the same as being able to enjoy a delicacy.”

On the outside of the estate, Ryoichi wanted to give her a piece of his mind, how dare she even bring Koharu into this like a buffet selection!?  
“Is that why you brought me here?” To offer her to your god?!

“He’d dying Ryoichi…Besides, you don’t love her anymore right, especially after what she did to Masaya.”

“Who’s to say that?!”

Kanae shot him a look that certainly should have killed him because it pierced his soul,

“Are you fucking serious!? That should have been more then enough to convince you that humans and ghouls don’t belong together! Never mind a dove!”

“Kanae you’ve never like her to begin with…would you have tried feeding her to him if I didn’t love her too?”

“Ryoichi, at the auction I found someone who was extremely close to what Master Shuu’s been after and she got away. Ui just happens to be one of the of those very close things!”

“So you’re just going to dispose of her!”

“Masaya wouldn’t oppose!”

“I DO!” He yelled, “I CARE ABOUT HER! I love Ui-chan...I may not know much about her, she might be a dove, she might even kill me if she gets the chance. BUt I can't stop these feelings from being present in my heart. She's just perfect the way-“ As he said that Kanae lunged herself at him and sent him flying back to the ground with her hands around his neck to hold him there. He chocked but she didn’t loosen her grip.

“Ryoichi Takeo…why don’t you stop acting like a brat for one second and think…My entire family was killed by doves, I was the only one left to flee and escape here all the way from Germany…Master Shuu has been my only friend, my only purpose since…Now you’re friend was nearly killed and is still injured and you’re asking me to spare a life so you can go honeymooning…Schwachsinn!”

“So what you’re saying is-“ He gasped, “that I’m not your friend-?” For a second, he was sure that she was going to get away with strangling him…but then her grip loosened and she got off of him, stepping on his face as he hacked for air,

“Right now, you’re just the fool!”


	14. Raspberry Beret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will place a warning here just in case:  
> There is some nsfw in here (closer to the end of the chapter) so if you're not into that kind of thing, you can skip over that part if you want. :)

“You want to blend in as ghouls to get information?” Koharu was shocked to hear such a plan be brought up; the usage of masks to blend in and collect some insight was a plan Haise Sasaki had strategized.

“Yes, I think it would be a good insight into the ghoul world and get some more information before we launch Rose…”  
It was just the two of them talking in an empty meeting room and the reality of this operation was already starting to walk on their heels. The heat of it all was starting to put pressure on everyone as well as anticipation and fear. Her own squad was certainly starting to understand the situation now as well. Each of them had been working exceptionally hard; Brooke and Michiko were even able to win their own quinques and now had double the firepower they did before. She was proud of them for preparing, but lately Koharu had failed to recognize those accomplishments personally through her own stress. She still couldn’t find the Cowboy ghoul she’d lost track of and with Hairu being pulled from the battle, Ui had assigned her role to Koharu. Hairu and Koharu might have been the same in ranked terms, but by far she knew that the pinkette was the better fighter and would have quite the shoes to fill.

Haise tapped his fingers on the table as a way to break the silence,

“I…spoke to Special Class Ui – your brother about this as well-“

“What was his response?” She asked quickly,

“He said no, that there was no justice in it.”

“Then that’s also my answer.”

“Koharu…I thought you of all people would be on board with this…If I had your word then perhaps you could convince your brother to change his mind.” His smile was half hearted, but so was hers.  
Haise was not well liked by her brother, he saw him and the rest of the Qs as unethical and dangerous…Did he think that of her too?

But the reason she denied his idea for the ghoul masks was not just because she was starting to trust in her brother’s opinions, but also because she too was starting to think of that as a dangerous idea that should not be toyed with. Sure the Qs could probably handle the task…but Ui was right, that would be unjust; it would be like they’d be siding with the monsters.

“Look, Haise. My brother might be a bit stiff when it comes to new ideas which I think is not right in it’s own ways. But this time I think he has a point; going in like ghouls would be foolish…what would happen if they were to suspect you or-“

“They wouldn’t!”

“They could! It’s that simple!” _breathe, Koharu, breathe_. Yelling certainly wouldn’t get her point across, “Look, I know what you’re thinking and it’s not the worst idea, even if I were to agree I doubt he’d listen to me anyways…but I stand strong with my brother this time, besides he is the boss of this extermination so I trust that he knows what’s best.” He looked disappointed in her response and while it made her sad in return she still couldn’t agree to his plan. He was a good investigator, he had come up with many great plans and was a great leader to his squad as well, someone she respected as a fellow co-worker despite Ui’s distaste. But this plan…it seemed too risky, even for her interest.

Even so the idea was put to vote, and even after all the persuading that was done and all the positives and negatives were tossed around…the majority decided that the mask idea was to be put into the works. But Koharu didn’t allow her squad to participate, as they didn’t need that extra stress when they should be worrying about the actual operation as well as their own preparations. But she wouldn’t allow it to affect the outcome, she would be sure to kill them all; even by her own hands if she had to.

\--

Mizurou had been waiting for the meeting to end. But the longer he stood outside her office waiting for her to walk by the longer it seemed to take. Seconds felt more like minutes as he continued to glance up at the clock and beads of sweat started to form by his hairline. It was if the more he though about this situation the worse it made it and the harder it was going to be. That’s probably why he was so relived to see her as she rounded the corner with Carma and Brooke that made him thank the gods before he chickened out.

“Hey Michi!” he greeted her half way, trying his best to smile like this was any other time he met up with her,  
“Mizurou, what were you doing? Waiting for me again?” She asked, a smile growing on her face as he picked up one of her hands to kiss it, though he could see in the corner of his eye that Brooke was putting her hand up to her forehead in the shape of an ‘L’ while sticking out her tongue. _How old was she?_

“Yeah! I mean, of course…I just wanted to-“ His hand was shaking in hers and clearly she saw it two as she gave him more of a concerned glare, out of desperation he gave her his best fake smile he could pull off. Clearly making him look more ridiculous if anything. _God it would really be helpful if her friends weren’t standing right there!_

“Are you feeling okay?” Carma asked from the side, tilting her head to the side a little, “You seem a bit tense.”

A bit?!

“Umm…ladies, can you give us a minute?” Michiko finally said pointing to the office; _thank you!_

“Fine. But I don’t want to find you two mangled in the cleaning supply closet or anything!” the brunette huffed, but as she walked by she punched Mizurou in the shoulder just enough so that his girlfriend couldn’t see. Once they were finally alone, he finally decided to do it, nothing in his way, he had a clear path!

“Look Michiko, I was wondering if that maybe you’d like to go out tonight?”

“Tonight?”

“I know its last minute! But I really wanted to take you somewhere…as a surprise.” He could feel blood starting to race up to his face as he waited for an answer, though he stood tall and confident like as the books called for.

“Well you certainly have me intrigued! A mystery, hmmm? Alright, what time should I be ready by?”

“Seven?”

“Okay, I’ll be ready on the dot then…” Every time she smiled he felt something inside of him just naturally feel the need to smile back, “How about a kiss before we part?”

“Of course.”

A kiss would be nice, it would keep him from dropping any more hints about tonight that he had planned. Stepping closer to her, he made sure to get a good look into her beautiful green orbs before pulling her close to him by the waist and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. They were so perfect, those lips of hers, and so was the taste of her light lip gloss that his tongue just caressed over.

Mizurou had to be careful otherwise this trance might just have him take her into his office but for the sake of the Bureau someone managed to interrupt them,

“Investigator Ayase!” Akira Mado was standing right in front of the lovey-dovey duo; they didn’t even see her coming! Instantly they pulled away with a little saliva hanging off their lips through their burned faces “I have a few things that I need you to run down to the document room please.” Strangely, their superior didn’t seem all that disrupted from witnessing part of their scene and honestly of all people he was glad it was her that walked in – if it had to be anyone anyways. 

“Of course.” Michiko said, rubbing her lips together and taking the papers into her hands, but before she left she turned around to face him, “I’ll see you tonight then.”  
Mizurou always wanted a girlfriend, but he never even imagined that he’d end up with someone like her. If this was fate then he’d thank the stars.

\--

Back at :re, things were finally starting to go back to normal now that Masaya’s paralyzed-effects had finally worn off and was able to move normally again and perform many of the tasks that he’d used to.

 **Thankful** was an understatement.

But now he’d become more quiet and distant from everyone, Ryo figured it was because he was still embarrassed that they all had to look after him for so long and that his manliness had been threatened; but not once had Ryoichi ever saw less of him. In fact he was probably more of a man then he’d ever be, but he still wished he could help Masaya get back to his old self again…maybe understand what he was thinking about.

One night when they were closing up shop, Ryoichi was cleaning out the coffee machine as Touka and Masaya were pulling in the signage from outside. From his view, it was clear to see that Masaya was still a little wobbly on his feet but managing like a trouper…how did Koharu do that much damage to such a strong man?

“It’s your day off tomorrow,” Touka said as she placed the wooden sign behind the counter, pulling a piece of her hair behind her ear, “Have any plans?” 

“Well I was thinking about going to see Kanae. She hasn’t come to the café in a while.”

“I’d let her cool down a bit more if I were you. She’s not exactly the easiest to win back over you know.”

“But…” Kanae was probably still prickly about Ryo still having feelings for a girl that he hardly knew, a dove that he wouldn’t get over. But he couldn’t – he wouldn’t! Things just didn’t work like that. But he did miss speaking with his friend and perhaps the only way he’d get her back would be by his own efforts.

“Better get her bouquet of roses then. Just not from her garden.” His manager said as she flipped the sign to ‘closed’ and took a seat at one of the bar stools, “Mind making me a coffee?”

“I just finished cleaning it!”

“Come on! I pay you to do it. Besides I need to see how well you’re making them to our customers. Yomo want a cup too?”

“If need be.” Her uncle sighed taking a seat next to her.

“Masaya?”

“Nope, I’m okay.” He replied, tilting his hat towards Ryo in a curious sort of way, then taking a seat to observe. But before Ryoichi even had the chance to pour them a drink, the bell above the door jingled; this immediately catching Touka’s attention,

“I’m sorry but we’re closed. You can come back tomorrow.”  
From what he could see, three people had come in through the doors even against Touka’s words. And he knew them all.

_Eto._

_Hideyori._

“Dad?!” he dropped the cup full of coffee, it shattered into little pieces by his feet and yet he was unaffected by it. Instead all he could see was what he wished he couldn’t. A man that looked so similar to him and yet wasn’t him at all.

A stranger.

A zombie even.

What the hell were they doing here? Luckily the other three ghouls were able to tell where they were from, Eto was probably a dead give away.

“I said we’re closed.” Touka repeated, on the verge of letting her Ukaku slowly start to emerge out of her body in case of attack, Yomo and Masaya were the same. But Ryoichi…He just stood behind them.

“We’re not here for the coffee this time. We – I want to speak with Ryoichi.” The man with his matching red hair said as he took another step inside, the boards carefully creaking beneath him; even though his body was nothing close to the size of Yomo or Masaya. But Takeo really didn’t appear to have an intension to start an attack, the other 3 held their ground. 

“What business do you have with him?” Yomo asked,

“Business? There’s no business if he’s my son you know.”

“Son…?” Touka glanced back behind the counter where Ryoichi was trembling and his face had lost most of it’s colour, “This man is your father?!” He didn’t respond, his mouth hung open but no words emerged; yet she still believed in the possibility of this being the truth.

“Look he’s still on clean up duty…can you spare some of your time to talk with him tomorrow? Be civil for once Aogiri!”

“Civil?” Eto teased tilting her head to the side, “Whatever is that? Just kidding! What do you think Mr. Takeo?”

“Another night won’t make a difference…I can come back tomorrow alone. Maybe having you all here was a bit intimidating for them.” Takeo was able to make eye contact with his son and Ryo felt like vomiting just from that. This man is his father, but he never was. Still even when they left he felt their presence close by…and he already sensed that he was in danger.

“Touka! I’m not seeing him-!”

“Relax, don’t worry I don’t trust him completely either. He’ll come with back up…Aogiri always does and if he does attack, I’ll make sure to have Yomo and Masaya close by.”

“That’s right,” Masaya nodded, “I won’t let them take you…I’m done with having people close to me being hurt by those who seek to kill.”

Yomo nodded.

But even so…he was still being protected like a child, he hated it but if worse came to worse, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself otherwise. Besides, he could probably handle just one cup of coffee with that man…but only one.

\--

“Oooh you look nice!” Kitami noted as Michiko came down the stairs in pretty green dress, her hair done all smooth and shiny, and of course her make up was on point; _Belle of the ball._

The rest of her squad was all gathered in the living room watching a movie together, along with the zero squad kids who’d come to hang out so of course she looked like a princess compared to them all in their sweats and pajamas. 

“Thank you,” She said, knowing fully well that she looked great, “I’m going out for the night Koharu.”

“What?! You know your curfew is 11!”

“Huh?”

“Just kidding! Have fun!” her squad leader waved as she took a sip from her beer can, Michiko shook her head.

“Protection Michiko!” Brooke called just as she was making a break for the door and frankly she was glad to be able to shut it behind her. Sometimes she just couldn’t take their comments and was glad to be able to get away to spend time with her special guy… **alone!**

Once she made it out, Mizurou was just getting out of the taxi to greet her and as soon as he lied eyes on her, she too started to feel flustered as he always gave her that look when they met up on date nights like this.

“You look beautiful as always.” He said, opening the taxi car door open for her and helped her inside, “Would m’ lady please step into her carriage.”

“Stop it!”

The poor driver who had to witness their cheesy performance the entire way there, but they couldn’t help being in love. She loved him and he loved her, what more was there to say?

“Mizurou…what is this?” They had arrived at a little place down in the park where there was a sort of dinner being held, a very fancy one at that! There was a large gathering of people surrounding tables where fancy plates of dinners were coming out and music playing in the back. Lights were hanging from the trees and parts of the path were lit up. She was speechless.

“It’s a light-viewing garden party,” Mizurou said as he came up next to her, “I thought that you’d like to trying something a little different tonight.” Indeed this was different from their usual dates and certainly not something she expected from him…to be honest a garden party was quite nice and she knew just how pricy these things were to attend. Michiko would have been perfectly fine with just something low key too.

_Why would you do this for me…?_

Taking her hand, he seemed so confident in his actions that she felt no need to be afraid really either, but she still couldn’t help but feel…unworthy of all this.

The dinner was perfect to her taste,

The music was grand,

But the talk was all a bore. Mizurou kept it all short and simple…there wasn’t as much enjoyment to it as usual…why? After dinner, Mizurou offered that they go for a walk to view some more of the lights to which she agreed to, but instead of staying on the traditional grounds where the lights actually were, he took her up to a hill that just over looked a little pond and had a clearing of any trees or plants – what was he doing?

“Mizurou…”

“Come here, Michi.” He gestured her up beside him and once she was at the top, he rounded his way behind her to where he pointed up to the starry sky. In Tokyo, it was usually difficult to see all the stars illuminated so bright and she’d often have to use a handheld telescope to see anything at all, but here in the dead center of a darkened park they were completely visible to her naked eye.

“So beautiful…”

“I know that garden party was a little bit over the top but…I only really wanted to show you this. And the only way I was able to do that was by taking you there.”

“I had a great time, no matter what…as long as you’re there with me. But Mizurou,” She turned around to face him, her eyes were glossy and starting to fill with tears…but they weren’t tears of joy, “Why me?”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘why you?’ You’re my girlfriend and I wanted to treat you to a nice evening.”

“No that’s not what I meant!” some of her golden brown locks has come loose from it’s held back position and she glanced away so that he wouldn’t have to see any tears fall, “it’s just…I don’t deserve this- any of this!” 

But Mizurou had already seen her tears and they were pretty hard to ignore,

“What are you talking about Michi!?” he asked trying to hug her, but she pulled away instead, “Why wouldn’t you-?”

There was always something she’d kept from him - from most people for that matter - about her past…a truly undesirable one at that. But if she were to tell him then she could loose him…if she didn’t she’d continue to be haunted by it. Michiko wasn’t sure she could live with that burden anymore without at least telling him. It wouldn’t be fair would it? They couldn’t move foreword if she was holding back.

“Michi…?”

“Mizurou…Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah, anything!”

Did he really want to know this though? But…she had to try. The young couple found themselves a bench to sit at where no one else could see them, their light source being that of some of the fairy lights hanging above them.

She didn’t start explaining right away and yet, he stayed there right beside her the entire time patiently waiting for when she was ready. When she was, she did so with any courage she could grasp.

~

 

Michiko came from a pretty average family that moved from London to Japan after her mother landed a job. She lived with just her mother and her younger brother in a good home with food on her plate. She went to a good school and did pretty well in her courses…but she never made any friends; at least not any real ones. The people she surrounded herself with were all pretty self-absorbed and often indirectly teased Michiko for the smallest of things, even when she was trying so hard to fit in. But school was never the direct issue for her, it was more so her home life and the way she was treated there. Her younger brother was the star of their mother’s eyes and was given all the praise and love that Michiko would have done anything to get a sliver of. Her mother acknowledged her enough, but she didn’t really care about her in the same ways a parent should. Michiko could earn the highest marks in her class and her mother would still turn to her brother’s accomplishments as if she didn’t even exist.

This went on for years, Michiko eventually started to try too hard and made herself sick over it and still it was always her brother. Sure he could play an instrument, sure he was naturally charismatic, sure he was athletic, sure he was able to get whatever he wanted…Eventually Michiko pulled the last straw and decided if she couldn’t get mother’s attention by being a good girl, she’d go bad and see where that would go.

_“Just look at me… **please.”**_

Soon enough, Michiko started to get intertwined in the mangled mess some of her ‘friends’ were in and started to pick up their bad behavior. She met up with them outside the school grounds to meet up with some older boys in their school and would often drive away for the weekends to party and sleep around. Michiko wasn’t even sure how many she’d been with…but because of this her grades started to decrease and skipping school started to become a normal thing.

**NOTICE ME**

She did this on a regular basis, but even then she wasn’t enjoying these knew habits of hers, she waited for the day for when her mother would notice her.

It was one night when Michiko was sneaking out of the house that her younger brother caught her and stopped her to ask where she was going. She said he wouldn’t care, but he said that he did…that he already knew what she was doing…besides he could already see the hickeys and bruises on her neck and arms.

‘She was too pretty to be doing such things.’ He’d told her, he also noted that he’d been the one answering all the calls from the school about her absence and failing her courses to keep mother at bay…but she wanted her to know what she was doing!

Michiko hated him for doing that, in fact she even smacked him for that and left a cut on his cheek.

Who knew that’s how she would get their mother’s attention?

That’s when her brother told their mother about the things that Michiko had been doing and that he’d tried to stop her, Bullshit! When their mother asked why she did this Michiko said,

“Mother…I just wanted you to be proud of me. To notice me for once.”

“Michiko…it doesn’t seem that you need attention from me if your sleeping around with strangers…there’s no room in my heart for a sleazy daughter. You might think they notice you by acting up like this but guess what? No one cares about a slut let alone proud! What’s gotten into you…?”

Those words cut deep into her heart…but that was the truth wasn’t it? A slut was what she was and she knew well enough that they never cared about her, not her friends or her family – if she could call them that.

After that, her mother took her out of the privet school and placed her in the CCG’s academy for a cheep payment…Though Michiko was convinced her mother did it because it would be easy to kill her off this way without having blood directly on her hands. But she would still prove to her that she was still worth being alive, she’d become an investigator and she’d do so confidently. Picking up her act, she stopped seeing those individuals and stopped seeing people who she thought of as down bringers She also was convinced she’d never date anyone by this point as well. As soon as there was the opportunity to take the Quinx surgery, Michiko jumped to the opportunity in an instant and filled in the application; no way this would be a little accomplishment if she were able to save humanity in a new light.

A new home, a new job, a new family.

_Someone will care; someone will notice me._

Once she was one of the few accepted, she was soon taken in and placed with a new group of girls that she’d seen in the academy before a few times though none she knew well. They were all a little rough around the edges and not usually people she’d see herself hanging around. But she had to stay open minded, after all they were to be working together for the next…who knows how long; and she was so glad she did. They were so friendly and welcoming to each other, they accepted their differences and took one another for who they were as a person, not for what they did in their pasts. They were all fighting against one enemy and they were all allies. She felt loved by these 4 girls…what a feeling. But it wasn’t just them she took a liking too, she also started to warm up to some of her other co-workers, the other Qs squad, the Arima squad, and a few of her superiors who complimented her work ethic. But one squad in particular seemed to in her center of view most of the time; though she never approached them directly was the Suzuya squad. There was just something about them that she just couldn’t pin point what made her feel confused or uncertain. They all seemed nice enough, yet for once in her life she felt too shy to approach them. Maybe because they were considered to be one of the most elite groups the CCG bared. Still she kept her head high and posture perfect, she had to make a good impression every time.

It wasn’t until the day that she’d taken her break to head down to the CCG’s sorting room where she found a misplaced book on a shelf on constellations that she ran into Miyuki who’d lost it. 

“Hey!”

“Hmm?”

“That book, I think that’s mine!” He said as he approached her and gratefully took it, “I’m not sure how someone could mistaken this for a ghoul file…”

“Yes, for a minute I thought that it was mine too, I own the same copy.” Michiko said as she pointed to the cover, “It’s quite a good guide. I like how it includes some older theories that are still up to debate.”

“Same! Wait…you’re part of the beta Qs right?”

“Yes, Michiko Ayase, second class.”

“Rank 2 investigator Miyuki Mikage. I’m uh, part of the Suzuya Squad.”

“Suzuya squad? Oh well then, I look foreword to working with you sometime.” She lowered her head to him as he did to her. Though he still had one more thing to say,

“Hey, are you into stargazing too?”

“In my free time, yes.”

“If this doesn’t sound too weird or anything…I just got a new telescope placed in my squad’s backyard and maybe…would you like to come have a look?”

Well even if he said if this doesn’t sound weird it totally did…But this guy seemed honest enough, from the way he presented himself and all anyways and besides he was part of an elite squad…why shouldn’t she trust him?

“Well…I suppose that sounds interesting all right. You sure that’s okay?”

“It’s totally fine. I’m sure Suzuya and Hanbee won’t mind and Keijin and Mizurou are out for the evening. But believe me you can see everything! I was even able to get a good look at mars last night!”

This did sound like fun; none of her squad members were interested in the solar system from what she could tell.

Let the stars align.

“Well I guess I’ll be seeing it tonight too then. I have to find my file and get back to my squad…see you later.”

 

That night, everything in the night sky was filled to a better view like she’d never seen before! This big telescope was certainly worth taking a view from. 

“Oh, looks like they returned early.” Miyuki noted as Michiko stepped back to see whom he was referring to. Two men around their age had just entered the house, probably other members of the Suzuya squad, and were looking at her…though one with curiosity and one with disinterest. But it would be rude for her not to say anything to them, after all she was in their space.

“Hello, I’m Michiko Ayase from the beta Quinx squad. I don’t think I’ve ever met either of you before.” Now that she was up closer to them, she was able to see that indeed she’d seen these two wondering the halls of the CCG before a few times. The man with light brown hair returned the greeting instantly,

“I’m Mizurou Tamaki, Rank 2 of the Suzuya squad!” their other teammate also introduced himself as Keijin Nakarai though much more coldly. Michiko didn’t pay him any mind as she noticed the bag that Mizurou was holding was from one of her favorite jean stores. How could she go without complimenting his taste?

“You shop there often?” She asked, pointing towards the bag,

“Huh? Oh yeah, sometimes…when I need new pants of course.”

“Yeah? Me too! To be honest they’re the only place that makes jeans with a comfortable fabric…at least to my searches.”

“Oh, I agree with you there,” He said to her, reaching into the shopping bag to pull out the pair he purchased…but as he did she noticed something on the tag that seemed a little bit odd.

“Umm…Investigator Tamaki, those are a pair of women’s jeans…did you mean to buy those?” as soon as she said this he looked down at the pair in his hands and at the tag, instantly his face went beat red as he stuffed them back into the bag,

“No I didn’t. Whoops…well this is embarrassing.”

“Don’t be,” Michiko reassured as she tried her best to hold back her laughter, “We’ve all been there. There was this one time when I accidently bought men’s box-“ No – that was something probably not worth sharing.

“You know those were final sale too, right?” Keijin said to his squad member, probably only adding onto this embarrassing moment…but as she glanced at the tag that was sticking out of the bag, she could see the size –they were her size!

“Um you know…I could, probably take those off you hands if you’re not going to wear them.” The more she thought about what she said the more she wanted to hide. Here she was in the home of the Suzuya squad and she was asking one of them to take their pants – woman’s pants – that they didn’t mean to purchase. How odd.

But to her surprise, Mizurou was more then willing to give them to her and easily handed them to her.

“Investigator Ayase, you’ve done me a huge favor.”

“Hardly…”

“Really! If Suzuya-san were to have seen me I would’ve had some serious explaining to do.”

“You could have just said that someone misplaced them and put them in the men’s section.” Miyuki noted,

“OH. I guess I could’ve.”

“At least this way they’re going to good use.” Michiko finally laughed, more obnoxiously then normal, but she couldn’t help it. This whole situation was a mess…yet she was okay with it, “I’m sorry I just-“

“Don’t be…we’ve all been there!” and soon Mizurou was howling right along with her. This guy, he was pretty funny and chilled for someone who she saw as a superior. Though she felt bad for the other two who had to witness their symphony of laughter and snorts.

Before she left that night, Michiko can still remember walking out the door only to be chased down by Mizurou again.

“Investigator Ayase! Wait!”

“Hmm?”

“There’s something…I need to ask you?”

“What’s that?” at the time she didn’t think much of it, she had to get back to the Villa before her squad leader was to get mad at her for staying out late without notice. But he seemed desperate enough and considering the evening they had she was willing to listen,

“Let’s hang out again sometime?”

You want to hang out with me?

A smile crossed her face…was this the start of a new friendship?

“I’d like that…on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Let’s drop the ‘investigator’ formalities. It’s too long to address someone like that all the time you know."

“Yeah okay, Ayase.”

“Michiko is fine.”

He seemed surprised to be able to use her first name so quickly, but she assured him that it was okay.

“That means…You get to call me Mizurou then!”

“That’s perfectly fine with me.”

Ever since then…it felt like it’s all just gone up hill. They’ve grown closer and closer and from friendship to dating…for the first time in her life, Michiko felt exposed to a new kind of love, a love that was true and loyal…she knew his eyes were all for her. A love that she did not deserve. And yet, she kept feeding into this selfishness of desire for love and attention.

~

Tears fell from her eyes and landed on the top her hands that were bunched up in her lap. She could only assume what his response would be now that he knew the truth about her; he would get off this bench and walk away from her or call her a slut…just like her mother did.

“Go on…just say it!” Michiko said turning her gaze away as if bracing for impact, “Just say it!”

“Say what Michi?!”

“That I’m a slut, a sleaze bag, whatever! That’s what you’re thinking right!” She nearly tried to pull herself away from the bench, attempting to grab at her face but she felt Mizurou grab her arms to stop her from trying to do anything harmful to herself and then in one swoop he pulled her in close so that he was hugging her. He stayed put right where he was, holding her, reassuring her, and keeping her safe.

“Michi I’d never say that about you, I wouldn’t even dream it! Our pasts…are just that, our pasts! We’ve all made bad choices and mistakes we regret but…to me you’re not one of mine…I’m not saying that those thing you did were right but at the same time I can sympathize with you. You’re mother was out of context to shroud you out like that. I might not be an expert when it comes to parenting or anything like that but…I don’t believe a parent should love one child more over the other. She must have been blind to fail to see the beauty and talents that you poses Michi…At least, let me be someone in your life who will always engage you, pay attention to you, appreciate all you have to offer because I love you for who you are!” She could feel his grip tighten around her and the more he spoke the more her tears flowed, landing on his shoulder. She loved him; she loved him so much that she couldn’t even think of words to reply back without sobbing loud enough for others to hear.

“You…really feel that way about me?”

“I do…” He said leaning back so that he could look into her eyes, his also starting to have a shine to them though he did a much better job of hiding it. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a little velvet box and got off the bench onto one knee. Opening it a shiny ring rested inside, and he made sure he was looking at her again to assure his certainty, “I know we haven’t been dating for that long but…Michiko Ayase, you really do make me happy and I know for a fact that I want to do that same for you. I want to be that man in your life that will be your support and to be that friend who will listen…so, will you marry me?”

 _Marry me?_ He wanted her to marry him. Well of course the answer was simple…but still was this real, someone still wanted to marry her even after they knew about her past mistakes…what did she do to deserve a man as good as this?!

“Oh Mizurou…Of course I will! YES!” She jumped off the bench and leaped onto him causing him to loose his balance, causing them to both ball onto the ground below in an array of tears from the both of them.

Once the ring was placed on her finger, it was if for a second and just one, that she finally felt like she could forget her worries and just live in the moment for once. After all…she could die any moment, and so could he. She knew that well.  
"Oh...It's raining!" Indeed, storm had rolled in quickly over the city and with nothing to hide under but thin trees, Mizurou took her by the hand, "Let's go find someplace dry!"

 

After the proposal, the couple decided to check into a small hotel room for the night as both of their groups were all home, Suzuya and beta alike, and would cause for a major interruption with their emotions. After everything they went through that night, all Michiko wanted was to love him and to feel his touch. The room consisted of a queen sized bed, a small bathroom, and a small TV on a dresser. But nothing mattered to them at this moment if it wasn’t each other. The thunder rolled outisde their window but that was easy to ignore.

Mizurou was the first to start with soft enduring kisses as his fingers brushed through her long golden locks, though still a bit damp. His lips were still soft, just as they were this morning, but now they were alone and out of the halls of hell, they could continue as they pleased. Michiko was quick to start taking off her dress with the help of his hands as they soon fumbled their way towards the bed, falling onto it still attached at the lips. It didn’t help that his cologne was just strong enough to enlighten her urges to start unbuttoning his shirt. By this point she was only in her under layers and he was completely shirtless; not the first time they saw each other this way and yet it felt like it was.

“You’re so beautiful you know…” Mizurou gulped, his eyes locked on her chest. She invited him to help her take off her bra, guiding him to un-clip the back so that they were now both naked from the top half of their bodies. He kissed every part of her, all the way from her lips, to her cheek, to her neck, collarbone - where he left little love-bites, to her breats and her stomach. His touch was so irresistible. Strong yet so gentle as his hands wondered up and down her skin, an impatient moan escaping her lips every time.

"I love you so much Michiko." he whispered to her over and over again, those sweet words. Soon, both of them were free of any clothing that was holding them back; today they would not tease as the two of them were both on edge to start. 

The arrays of moans and grunts that echoed through the room that night made them both glad that they weren’t in their homes.

“M-Mizurou…!” She called out his name by the peck of her tongue and she knew that he must have been enjoying himself as he called her name back in response. Their heady aromas and the creaking of the bed made it that much more worth while as they held onto to each other for dear life during the climax where Michiko and Mizurou let out one last final cry of their love for each other.

_Passion,_

_Endurance,_

_And **Love.**_

Even in the afterglow of the moment, Michiko was still leaned up against her love, appreciating all her blessings that were in her life now that she was able to see them as that. Nothing to worry about…even if they didn’t give her the time of day, at least she had people that did. She had many friends and a lover whom she all loved greatly… and received a greater respect for as this day served as a memory to her as so.


	15. Backwoods Barbie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! <3  
> Hope you enjoy this week's chapter!  
> (Also as a fun little fact if you haven't noticed yet, all the titles of the chapters are named after songs that kind of correspond with something in that chapter. Sometimes the lyrics, sometimes that title really just fits lol. The title of this chapter is off the Dolly Parton song. When I heard it and looked at the lyrics I just thought of Michiko.)

_How did I get roped into this?_

It was his day off and he was planning on going to see someone who he saw as a friend, but instead here he was, waiting to see someone who was his family by blood. But in some ways Ryoichi Takeo had a hard time seeing the logic in spending time with someone who would only cut him down.

“Don’t worry,” Touka said putting a hand on Ryoichi’s shaking shoulder, “It’ll be okay- he won’t hurt you.”  
Ryo gulped, he wasn’t afraid of physically being hurting, he was afraid of the stories his father could bring with him or how he might continue to beat down on his weaknesses.

Still, the man arrived right on time, emotionless and in casual attire. He appeared to have come alone but Touka had already warned him that there was a chance this may not be the case.

“Should I prepare two coffees?” the manager asked as she was already reaching for two ceramic cups, but Takeo shook his head.

“We’ll take them to go.”

“To go?”

“Yes, it’s a nice day.” The man seemed to be short on words, but Ryo already knew where his father wanted to go and nodded to Touka that it was okay. Once they received their coffee’s, Takeo offered to pay for their beverages but she said it was on the house today and wished them a nice time. Although Ryoichi wasn’t exactly sure what a _‘nice time’_ could be with his father.

The two men walked along the streets in silence, maybe neither of them knew where to start or perhaps his dad was truly taking in the weather. Eventually, they made it to a small green space where they found a bench to sit on,

“We used to come here a lot when you were little.” Takeo said as he tossed his empty cup in a bin beside him, “Remember?”

Ryo didn’t respond, he just sat there spinning his own cup and watched as the last remaining bit of liquid swirled inside. Takeo tried again,

“Then that fire hydrant, over there,” he pointed, “You used to call it ‘orange juice’ even though it’s red-“

“Can you get to the point already?” Ryo asked sharply still not looking at him yet he could sense his father’s eyes weren’t on him either. There was no way his father wanted to bring up his childhood memories and even if he did he was wasting his time…there was no childhood for Ryo to even remember.

“I see how it is…you really are just like me. Wasting time like this is pointless,” Takeo’s eyes were red, just like blood, unlike his son’s notably violet ones. Just like his mother’s were. This was the only difference that one could tell the two men apart; besides Ryo’s hair length of course.

“You wanted to know why I left Aogiri right?”

“Shion already told me.”

“She did?”

“She said you told her at the auction.”

“Great to know she can keep a secret…” Though he really didn’t expect anything less from Hideyori, she might have gave a chilly impression but she really was an ass-kisser despite what she says. But at least it saved him the pain of having to explain, clearly Takeo should know by this point that he didn’t like him after all he’s put him through; all the suffering. Ryo tossed away his empty cup as well, “But I’m never going back you know. I hated that place…Aogiri is just not for me.”

“To be honest with you son, I’m impressed that you were able to get out so easy. Common procedures call for a death sentence for treason.”

“You know I wasn’t a desirable solider anyways…” Weak, that’s what he was; even when he had a working kagune, “I was let go with ease.”

“So you figured making coffee was a better option?” he sounded disappointed, he was always disappointed in him though. The man was never happy; Ryo could never recall a moment where he personally saw his father smile out of joy or happiness. To be fair, Takeo didn’t have an easy life…no ghoul did, but Ryo had found reasons to smile and just making coffee for his friends was enough,

“Don’t say it like that…I may not be good at it but you know, I’ve enjoyed it. I really have. Touka has been so nice to me and took me in when I had no where to go, Yomo saved me from death on the streets, Nishiki is like that annoying older brother I never wanted, Masaya is my best friend who has no problem understanding my problems, and Kanae has been…there for me too. Not to mention all the guests that come in everyday! I love being able to talk to all of them, ghouls and humans-“

“You’re friends with humans?”

“Well…” friends with humans? Did Ryo ever actually consider that he was a friend with humans? For sure he counted Koharu as one, “Yeah I am.”  
His father let out a sigh and leaned into the bench, closing his eyes as if to think of what to say, a careful way as to think of an insult without being direct. Ryoichi had seen numerous snakes before, and even though his father didn’t look like one, he knew for certain he was a rattler.

“Son, It’s one thing to serve them for survival purposes I suppose…but now you’re playing with your food like cat and mouse?”

“That’s not what I’m doing at all!”

“Ryoichi! You remember how many nights we starved because we had trouble finding ways to get food? Without being caught!”

“Dad! There’s other ways to get food without having to hurt anyone! I’ve always hated being a ghoul and so have you…but joining Aogiri was the worst thing we could’ve done!“ But clearly Takeo’s willingness was running low as he leaned up again – nearly standing – and if looks could kill, his certainly would’ve.

“My patience is low these days Ryoichi! Now just stop and think for a minute of all those days when we had ride in freight cars in search of new wards and new hunting grounds. After your mother died I had to provide for you alone and Aogiri was my best option!”  
He hated when his father spoke like this, 

“Why do you sound like raising me was a chore?!”

“Because in some ways it was!” it was a good thing no one was close by to hear them yelling like this, not unless Masaya and Yomo followed them anyways. Takeo’s ears started to turn red, “Ryoichi, you weren’t exactly an easy kid to care for! You were so clingy making hunting that much harder, you cried constantly, and when you got food you hardly touched it!”

“But I was only a child! Even when she was alive you didn’t care about me. I was scared after mom died, I didn’t know if we’d be next! You’re all I had and you still treated me like shit! In a world like this-!”

“In a world like this it’s kill or be killed! Eat when you can and don’t waist opportunities! I came back to see get you and find out you’re making friends with humans?! I thought by now you’d be more of a man now that you’ve had real world experiences…no, you’ve been given things on a sliver platter.”

“You know that’s not true! I’ve worked for what I get and you know what, I’ve gotten stronger too! Touka and Yomo have been training me!” That’s when Ryo was about to make one of the worst decisions of his life. Getting of the bench, he walked into the open clearing and allowed himself to unleash his ghoulish form, his eyes going dark and his physical form starting to transform, but he dared not to pull out his disintegrated kagune.

“You want to fight me to prove yourself…?” At first, Takeo didn’t seem so keen about this idea, perhaps he doubted his son’s abilities more then Ryo assumed. But still, his cockiness was going to make him sign his death contract,

“Come on! Let’s dance!”

“I will not hesitate to say that you’re foolish…but then prove to me you’re better then a human-loving ghoul. Show me you’re worthy of your Takeo name. Let’s see if you really have gotten stronger.” Takeo stood up from his bench and slowly walked into the clearing. His eyes started to go black and veins poured out of the sides of them, his Ukaku – one that looked like Ryoichi’s when it was intact – a blaze behind him like a volcano. Though it’s span was bigger then anything Ryoichi had ever seen, even bigger then Touka’s.

But still, he jumped in with fear in his heart and stupidity in his brain.

\--

The news of Michiko and Mizurou’s engagement spread like wildfire around the CCG. Wherever they went in the building someone was congratulating them, even in the bathrooms. It was yet another pleasant distraction for people to think of a union, something to celebrate! The only two who seemingly didn’t make a big deal about it was Carma and Keijin, surprisingly members from the two squads. Perhaps the thought of a new adjustment set them off.

Another big announcement was Hairu and Koori finally coming clean about their relationship to everyone as well as her pregnancy; even more celebrations!

But that was a joy that even Brooke could brush over once she received a letter in the mail from her own family.

“Well aren’t they a little late.”

“Who’s late, Brooke?” Kitami asked as she glanced over to her friend that was holding a photograph in her hand, “What’s that?”

“A Christmas card from my sisters,” She replied, showing her squad the picture of her three sisters in holiday attire, “They must have sent it via Economy.”

“Who cares, it must be nice to get one of those!” Kitami whined spinning in her chair, “Wish I was able to get those. But no family means no cards!”

“Me too…” Agreed Carma,

“I get one from my parents, but it’s never really from them…it’s their secretary that writes them out and stamps it with their signature.” sighs Koharu, “they can’t even take 10 minutes out of their day to personally write me anything and I doubt my brother is any different, you Michiko?”

“You’re really asking me…?”

Brooke was the only one left in her squad who actually had a family that cared for her; oh how her friends envied her for that. But truth be told, Brooke’s family wasn’t as peachy as the card made it out to be, in fact it wasn’t perfect at all! Scratching her head as she gazed at the photo, she was trying to remember when exactly was the last time she saw them, two or three years maybe?

“You know Brooke, maybe you should go out for the weekend and see them,” Koharu said to her squad mate, “With the Rose operation next week…you may want to spend time with them when you can.”

“You think I should?”

“You should!” Kitami yelled, getting up from her seat and hovering over Brooke yet again, “I mean…You have the chance to! Why wouldn’t you?!”

“I dunno. I guess I just don’t want to take a 4 hour train ride to Hokkaido alone.” That was being honest, Brooke really didn’t want to go alone, but it wasn’t the train ride that bothered her, it was facing her family after so long that did. Luckily for her, Kitami was more then willing to go along!

“Oh! I’ll go with you then!”

“I thought you didn’t like long train rides…”

The blonde smiled,

“No, I don’t. But if it’s to keep you company I’ll go along…I’ll even bring my Walkman! Besides, you’ve told us so many stories about your sisters and I’d like to meet them for myself.”

“Really?” She wanted to meet those hooligans? If she wanted to come along…that would be okay she supposed, “Well alright…But you can just use an iPod you know…anyone else want to join us for a little trip? Koharu?”

“I can’t,” their squad leader admitted turning back to he work on her desk, “I’m preparing a few things for the operation, Hirako and Arima also said they needed my assistance…Plus I promised to go for coffee with Hairu on Sunday as usual.”

“Okay…Carma?”

“I guess a little break could be nice.” The pinkette said averting her gaze and Brooke snorted,

“You workaholics need to chill once in a while! But I’m glad you’re coming Carma, you haven’t left office for weeks.” the brunette wanted to be surprised about how most of them wanted to come but she couldn’t, she understood the dire situation they were walking into soon and they all could use a pick-up, “Alright bride-to-be, how about you? Want to come or are you working too?”

“Well…I guess I could come along. I don’t have anything major to do either.”

That was everyone but their squad leader, sounded like this was going to be a fun trip already!

“Looks like this could be a good bonding opportunity for you guys,” the raven-haired woman said as she glanced at her four companions, “Just please don’t do anything reckless to embarrass the CCG too much…I won’t be there to stop you. Michiko, since you’re the deputy leader I put their care into your hands…”

“Of course!”

With a weekend trip planned to meet Brooke’s family, everyone seemed ready and pumped to go, ready to meet a new side to their Brooke’s life.

\--

 

The battle between father and son commenced, though it was rather one sided as Ryo never directly attacked and instead played safe by dodging and avoiding every shard that came his way. In ghoul form, he had a much quicker speed and his agility was outstanding thanks to his training. But his kagune stayed put where his father couldn’t see. Jumping back for a moment, Takeo made note of this,

“Where’s your kagune? Don’t tell me you think you’re stronger without it?!” He hadn’t even laid a finger on him yet! But Ryo was afraid of the shame his father would put on him if he saw what happened to it.

“I’m not saying that at all! I’m just showing you how I’ve improved.”

“You’re fast on your feet that’s for sure. But all Ukaku users are so that’s nothing new…but why are you keeping it down?”

“Because if you saw it…you might laugh!”

“It’s hard to make me laugh and I doubt even you are capable of it.” Still, Ryoichi knew that if he were to at least hit his father somewhere he’d get a little ounce of satisfaction. He had to try. But before he could move again, someone stepped in front of him – because Takeo had tried to attack him again! “Masaya?!”

“I told you I wouldn’t let him hurt you!” His Bikaku was going so fast that Ryo couldn’t even see it as it managed to hit every flame, “Run Ryo!”

“No, Masaya! I’m trying to-“

“You’re Masaya?” Takeo glanced at this new man, this new predator, among them and stopped his kagune’s force to get a good glance. For once Ryo was able to see his father look stunned, “You’re friends…with my son?”

“Yes sir,” Masaya blocked his red headed friend completely, one couldn’t see him if they stood in front of the tall man…but it was moments like these that Ryo felt so small when standing behind someone with so much height. Even from here it was obvious that he was even taller then his father, “A good friend too.”

“Strange…I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before…where are you from?”

“No where in Tokyo, I can assure you that.” Masaya smiled at him, though how grim he looked when in his ghoulish state. Do something Ryo! Stop standing here so uselessly!

“I believe that.” Takeo said, lowering his head a bit and letting his Ukaku retreat back into himself, his black eyes going back to red. No back up?

“No friends with you today?” Masaya asked, glancing around to see if anyone was close by. But not even Ryo could sense other presences; it was just them.

“I said I’d come alone and I did. It’s a little harsh to see that trust is a rare thing to come by these days…”

“Masaya! Let me-“ Ryo tried to get around his tall companion, but his bikaku held him back just like a child!

_So helpless._

“You should get going. Hit the road.”

“Yes, I’m a busy man and I have a job to get ready for…Well Ryoichi,” Takeo took a peak at his struggling son whom was trying to get around; unimpressed, “I have to say this was kind of what I was expecting of you…too bad that you’re not coming back. I guess with all the money I’ve earned I’ll have to give it to the boss. No use keeping something I won’t use.”

“I don’t want your goddamned money!” He never did, he just wanted his love, or at least kindness! But that was asking too much. Soon, Takeo was on his was out of the green space, his hands in his pockets and his body stiff, “Go ahead! Give it away! I don’t care…! That’s it! Walk away just like you always did!”

\--

The day of the trip had finally arrived. Early Saturday morning, the four girls got ready to leave despite Brooke being the one to complain the most about it. Then again no one liked getting up early to ride a train. Though Kitami and Carma assured her that she could just sleep on the way, but it was still clear that she was excited because once they arrived at the station the brunette was hustling along everyone and hurrying them so fast they never had a chance to get breakfast! However, Michiko just couldn’t feel that same excitement and was glad they missed breakfast; she wasn’t feeling that well. Carma had even pointed out to her that she was a little pale.

“Let’s see…okay where the fuck did Kitami go?!” Brooke glanced around to that a blonde individual was missing, of course the train was also getting ready to board at the same time this happened! “KITAMI! God…THIS IS WHY I WISHED SHE’D GET A CELLPHONE!” but as a technological idiot, Kitami saw no preferable use for a mobile device unless it was a communicator on missions; she loved the classic pen-to-paper. Little did she know how much she was annoying her friends by not having one; even just for calls.

“There she is.” Carma pointed to a speeding Kitami whom was holing a large paper bag and was coming out from one of the shops, a bakery.

“Wait! I’m coming!”

“Good lord what did you buy?” Brooke asked as she eyed the large bag, the smell coming from it was making her mouth water. For Michiko, it was making sweat prickle on her neck.

Once they all found their seats on the train and it started to leave the station, Kitami finally pulled out what she had purchased. On either side of her was Brooke and Michiko, beside Brooke was Carma who was glancing out the window in a weary state.

“Look! I got us some cinnamon rolls from the bakery! It’s a long ride and I can’t go without breakfast.” She pulled out one of the baked rolls, beautifully crafted and covered in a thick coat of cream cheese frosting.

“Well hello there gorgeous!” Brooke easily took one of the rolls, Carma politely declined,

“No thanks…I’m not hungry.” Once again, her magenta eyes kept clear of making contact with anyone else’s, but Brooke was quick to take her serving.

“Here, Michiko! Maybe once you have something in your tummy you’ll feel better!” The blonde handed one of the baked good’s to Michiko, one that was still in its little box. It’s not that it smelt bad; she just began to feel worse even by touching the bottom of it as the warmth tingled her sweating palms. As soon as she lifted the lid and the mixture of the frosting and spices hit her nose, her nausea gave way! “Oh! And look at what I got while I was there, I got the new issue of Shonen Ju-“ Kitami, who was attempting to grab her magazine out of the paper bag was the poor victim to have Michiko grab and vomit inside of the bag that was still sitting in her lap; some even getting on Kitami’s shirt!

For a moment, Michiko could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she backed away from her friend who held onto the puke-filled bag looking like she was ready to scream. Both Brooke and Carma were bug-eyed and everyone else in the car with them just gave her a disapproving glare. If she could’ve hid under her seat she would’ve.

“Umm...Michiko, are you okay?” the blonde next to her some how managed to ask, plugging her nose.

No she was not okay.

She was humiliated.

 

Soon, both Kitami and Michiko headed for the bathroom on the train to clean up and change into some extra clothes.

“I’m so sorry Kitami…” Michiko, now out of the view of everyone on the train, had started to cry, “I’m so sorry!”  
But Kitami, who’d looked horrified earlier, had seemed to get over it already and was even offering her a tissue,

“It’s okay, you aimed for the bag at least…” She said slipping off her puke-stained shirt, “Besides…this shirt is old and needed an excuse to be thrown out! You feeling any better though?”

“Yeah…I feel a bit better now.” She admitted, drying her eyes.

“Well then maybe you just ate something funky late night.”

“We all had the same dinner though!”

“Okay…then maybe you just have a sensitive stomach! Or even could you have the touch of the flu?”

That was possible; it had been a long time since she’d gotten sick so maybe it was her turn. But she didn’t really have many other symptoms for it to be the flu. She wasn’t having chills; she didn’t have an extreme headache…her stomach wasn’t exactly upset anymore. Maybe it was a 24-hour bug.

“Could be…” Michiko sighed, reaching for a hairband in her bag to tie her hair back, none. “Weird though.”

“Nope that’s not weird!” the blonde said, taking out one of her red bows from one of her pigtails and tying it into her friend’s hair, styling it into a braid, “It just means you’re human. Everyone get’s sick! Like this one time when I was in elementry, this kid threw up on my back when I was sitting in front of him for an assembly!”  
But still…it couldn’t be the flu…. She felt fine the last few days. Putting a hand to her forehead, it seemed to be fine even though she was burning up a few minutes ago before she was ill.

Quick nausea...why did this somehow ring a bell in her mind?

_No._

It couldn’t be could it? What day was it today?

“I’m late…”

“Late?”

“Late! I’m late!”

“For an important date?”

“No Kitami!” Michiko hinted best she could, why was this blonde such an airhead?! “You know, Late!”

“Oh… I see! But what does- OH!” when she finally caught on, the two of them just stared at each other as if neither knew what to say and they didn’t! Finally, Michiko was the first to break into a hysteric panic-like chuckle.

“Shit…Shit! I’m pregnant! I used protection, but I’m pregnant!”

“Calm down! First of all, that’s possible you know…it says on the package of condoms that they’re not always 100% safe. Second, You may have the flu.”

“WE CAN ROLE OUT TWO!” Quickly, Kitami put her hand over her friend’s mouth to keep her quiet, spreading word wouldn’t be a good idea and was probably disturbing the other riders. For once, Kitami had to keep cool and serious.

“Easy Michiko…Look, stop panicking…this may be a false alarm we don’t know until we get you tested.”

“When do you propose I do that?!”

“Look, when we get to Hokkaido I’ll slip into a pharmacy at the station quickly and get you a test. Then when we get to Brooke’s you’ll take it, okay?” It was a quick plan, though Kitami was such a klutz what if she couldn’t pull it off?

“Then what if it’s-“

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it…but for now this is just between you and me. I promise not to speak of any of this to Brooke and Carma so long as you odn’t want me to. I’ll pinky swear if you need me to!” It was nice to know that Michiko could lean on someone for now, though honestly she would have trusted any of her friends. But she was surprised it could be her of all of them. Smiling, the two hugged each other and Michiko gently reached up for the bow in her hair and caressed it. A token of a promise.

“Kitami…can you please put a shirt on?”

 

The long train ride remained silent between them all; it was just the odd sneeze or the rattling of the train to be heard. It made for an awkward ride, but once they arrived it seemed like spunky Brooke was ready to take charge again, even though Michiko was the one who was supposed to be. But Brooke knew more about Hokkaido then any of them so they all felt safer under her lead.

“Are you kidding me?! Where did Kitami go again?” Just as they got out of the train, Kitami was yet to be seen again as she took off to who knows where.

“Maybe the bathroom?” Carma suggested.

“No- Oh for fucks sake. Stop taking off like that to buy shit!”

Kitami game around with a new purchase from one of the stores, a small bag that held some water bottles, a magazine, and most importantly Michiko’s test.

“Sorry, but I needed to read the new issue, I never got the chance…” She said handing out the beverages to which they all took and started to drink greedily, however while they were all turned away she handed the test to Michiko whom quickly stuffed it into her own purse and worded ‘thank you’. She also returned her hair bow as a trade back.

Brooke’s house was another hour away from the station and now it made sense to them why Brooke didn’t come out here often. It was a more mountainous area where her home was and it was easy to see that Carma took a liking to it.

“Ah, this reminds me of Masaya’s old acreage!”

“It’s no acreage,” Brooke assured as they walked along a dirt rode into a closed in community, “But it’s pretty great! My sisters and me used to play in those woods over there!” She pointed to a little forested area that went up a large hill, a steep one too, “Yep, those were the days.” Brooke’s parents never had much money, but Brooke confessed that she grew up happy enough and had all the entertainment she needed from her siblings. She had an older sister that was in her late 20’s, a fraternal twin sister, and a little sister who was only nine years old. The age gaps were big, but in a way that made things more interesting, that’s what Brooke said anyways.

“One time at dinner, we were having salad and my twin, Brenda, asked me if I wanted ‘some more on’, of the dressing of course, and I yelled, ‘Mom! Brenda called me a moron!’ classic!”

But as she continued to tell her stories, they all wondered how any of these even lead her into becoming a ghoul investigator; it didn’t make sense, as she seemed to be happy here. Unlike the rest of them, she didn’t appear to have any ghoul history and even so her reasons were still a debated mystery. In secret, the 4 other members of her squad had been secretly been placing bets to see if any of them could figure out how and why Brooke wanted to do what she does.

The house they arrived at was an average sized home in a small community and very picturesque, but they weren’t even at the front door before a small girl came charging out of the house with a toy gun, nailing both Brooke and Kitami!

“Gah, Erica!” Brooke yelled, taking off one of the suction cupped bullets from her forehead, “What the heck?! That’s not how you great your heroic big sister!”

_Heroic?_

“Aw, But I thought if I aimed something at you, you’d unleash your kag…kagamine!”

“Kagune, shrimp!” the brunette sighed, giving the child a quick nudge of the shoulder, “Everyone, this is my little sis, Erica Akita. Please be warned…she is a weird child…” They might have been sisters, but they didn’t look that much alike. Erica had short, light brown hair – probably from all the sun exposure – and freckles that spread across her entire face. She looked cheeky and frankly Michiko felt the need to be alert with her close by.

Once they entered the house, they were quickly greeted by her other sister, her twin looked just like her – but certainly not enough to be identical. She greeted Kitami and Carma first,

“Hey, I know you, you’re that idiot blonde that Brooke’s told me about!”

“Idiot…?” Kitami glanced over at Brooke who could only give a weak smile, so this sister had no filter apparently. Neither did Brooke though.

“Yeah. And you, Pinky, must be the sweetheart. Guessing from your appearance.”

“Please don’t call me that name. I’m Carma Kimura.”

“And I’m Brenda Akita!” The young woman said, though she didn’t seem to care and continued to refer to Carma by that unprofaned nickname. But once she looked at Michiko, she didn’t have anything to say. Best guess was that Brooke didn’t say anything about her in her texts.

“Well come on,” Brenda urged them to follow her into the kitchen, “Shauna has been in the kitchen all day cooking for you guys…don’t know why. You could have just stopped for something on the way here.” Already Michiko wasn’t impressed with the hospitality, a crewed twin and a bratty elementary student. Who ever this ‘Shauna Akita’ was is probably no better. Following along her friends into the kitchen, there was another woman with orange – though a bit golden – hair hovering over a stove and pot and smiled to greet them all.

“Oh wow there’s a big crowd tonight! I didn’t think Brooke had so many friends…You all like stew I hope,” She said putting a lid on top, “and cheesecake for dessert.”  
“I LOVE cheesecake!” Kitami said, her eyes starting to bulge as she eyed the cake that was sitting out on a nice platter. Leaning over to Michiko, Brooke said,

“She’s always been the cook in the family, you won’t get me or Brenda near any stove.” That was true, Brooke never cooked at the Villa. Everyone took their rounds coking the meals for the night expect for her; though Michiko had to complain on Koharu’s cooking skills.

“Please, everyone have a seat” Shauna escorted them to a large table that was all set up and assuming that another lady – their mother – was just placing down a few bottles of wine…and drinking one herself. Kana Akita was another loud member of Brooke’s family, but she welcomed them openly and even allowed them to call her by first name which in some ways was a bit unsettling for them. Soon after, Brooke’s father came in from work, he was wearing a nice suit and looked rather slick if Michiko had to pick a word, he also appeared to be foreign. He didn’t seem to fit the picture of this family but he sure seemed happy to see Brooke again. Dinner was well prepared but the Akita family ate fast, she didn’t even have half her portion done by the time even the child finished…But to be honest, Michiko still wasn’t feeling that great. Carma must have been feeling ill from the trip because she didn’t eat either.

At least now everyone had a better understanding into how _Brooke was Brooke_. This family had clearly sharpened her into who she was as a person. A bit uncultured but still for the most part had good intensions.

After dinner, they were shown to their room that they were sharing for the night – basically Brooke’s room that was covered in sleeping bags. Her childhood room was exactly how all of them pictured it would be as it was covered in posters of anime characters, otters, food, otters, other images of family, and otters. Her bedding was sea blue and had a very beach-like theme to it.

Walking inside, Kitami crossed her arms and pouted,

“So I’m an idiot, huh Brooke?!”

“I didn’t mean it like that! Brenda misunderstood me,” the brunette defended, trying to find someone to look at where she wouldn’t look guilty, “I meant that you’re a technology-idiot! For the love of- you don’t even have a cell phone!”

“You got me there…”

“Carma, you can share the bed with me.” Brooke patted to the small space beside her but the pinkette shook her head. 

“Thanks but I’m okay down here.” She said as she patted her spot in return. Brooke looked discouraged but instead of taking her bed, she offered it up to Kitami.

“Kitami you take it. I’ll sleep down here…”

“Wow really!?” The blonde eagerly hopped onto the bed, “It smells like you Brooke.”

“No shit Sherlock.” The brunette rolled her eyes and in time crawled into what was Kitami’s sleeping bag, “I guess I should let Koharu know we’re alright. Otherwise I’ll wake up to 30 missed calls.”  
With Carma asleep and Brooke on the phone, Michiko took the opportunity to slip out and take her test…Kitami not far behind her.

What they didn’t know was that Carma wasn’t actually asleep yet and she’d spotted them leave the room.

_Where are they going?_

Curiously, Carma followed them through the darkened hallway, being careful so that Kitami, who was standing outside the bathroom door humming, wouldn’t sense her presence. In a way, Carma felt bad for snooping like this as it wasn’t something she’d usually do but…it seemed so odd for Michiko and Kitami of all people to walk out of the room together to the bathroom…usually those two would butt heads. Soon, the blonde was able to go inside the bathroom and once the door closed again, Carma crept a bit closer, eyeing every plank in the floor so it wouldn’t creek under her and once she got there, she carefully put her ear to the door and listened.

The test took a few minutes to bring up results so in the bathroom the two girls impatiently waited. Michiko sat on the edge of the bathtub, leaning over with her face in her hands. Kitami on the other hand didn’t know what to say really, what could she say?

“Do you…know what you’re going to do if it’s positive?” she asked in a tentative manner, but there was no going around the question in a nice way. Michiko already knew that. But she had an idea of what she was going to do; first she’d tell Mizurou…because this is his baby after all, if there is a baby. But that’s all she’d do, all she knew what to do.

“I…”

“Oh Oh! Let’s look; it’s been-“

“Hush Kitami!” the light brunette responded, though she was raising her voice just as much in the frantic waiting to see the result. Her shaking hand reached out and picked up the test again and she was nearly brought to her knees.

“Michiko…? What is it?”

She heard her friend next to her, but for some reason she couldn’t manage any words as the shock of it all took over.

One side of her was kind of happy…but most of her was thinking… _’my life is over.’_

Finally, when Kitami managed to peek over her shoulder, she too had to take a step back,

“Oh my god, you _are_ pregnant!” Hearing her say that was so unnerving, unsettling, as if someone smacked her over the head with those words. But they were true. Michiko Ayase was caring a child, Mizuoru Tamaki’s child.

Covering her mouth to keep hush, she knelt down and started to cry with Kitami falling next to her in an embrace, “Are you…going to call Mizurou?”

“No…” She managed, tossing the test into the trash, “I’m not telling him this over the phone…I’m going back tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow?”

“I’ll catch the first train and head out…this is…he just doesn’t deserve to receive this news over a call…Hey, Kitami?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you...tell the others I wasn’t feeling well and went home? Just so they won’t worry too much.”

“Of course but…do you want me to go back with you?” This was her problem, not Kitami’s. She’d been a big help and there were so few words that Michiko would ever use to express her gratitude to this girl this past day. But she’d go it alone for now…because in the end even she knew that the next best move would be made when she and Mizurou came to an agreement.

“No thank you,” She sniffled, putting her arms around Kitami again, “I can handle this…but just so you know, I owe you one.”

“Aw silly…you don’t owe me anything!” the blonde said, retuning the hug, “Maybe you could name the baby after me!”

“No.”

She didn’t even know…if she would keep it.

 

Outside the door, Carma’s jaw nearly hit the floor and her heart sank into the pit of her stomach.

_No…_

First Michiko was going to get married and now she was having a baby? God her life must have been just perfect. If not for ghouls…Carma would be going down the same path with Masaya just about now.

“Damn you Michiko…” she squeaked out, trying her best to hold back her own tears. Now it wasn’t just Hairu but Michiko too! With how things were going Saiko wasn’t far behind to catch the bouquet. To Carma, it felt like everyone was happy but her! If her friend decided to get rid of that baby, she’d kill her for her selfishness. If she kept it-

Hearing them move around the other side of the door, Carma made a quick escape back to Brooke’s room, with the other two close behind.

“Where the fuck were all of you? Did you all go to the bathroom together? Weirdo’s…” Brooke’s voice nearly made Carma jump, but shook her head.

“No…I went to get a glass of water.”

“It’s a dark hallway so…Michiko guided me to the bathroom.” Kitami’s lie was so unbelievable, but somehow Brooke managed to believe it.

“Okay…well Koharu says Hi.”

Koharu…just wait till she finds out about this. She’ll have Michiko’s head for not being able to join the Rose Operation now. _What a shame._


	16. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's chapter is being posted early since I don't think I'll have the time to get around to it the rest of this week as my life is finishing up some painting assignments >u< ' Can anyone say sleepless nights? 
> 
> Anyways-   
> This chapter is pretty packed with a few exciting things! Enjoy.

As she said she would, Michiko left early the next morning, even before anyone had awakened and took the first train back to Tokyo. After all, she had a 4 hour journey back…and the first place she was going to was the Suzuya Squad’s home, but the train ride back wasn’t as simple as she thought it would be as once again her wave of nausea returned and the funky smells of the train was no help to stimulate it. Luckily she was able to breech the bathroom this time.

\--

“Hey, where’s Michiko?” Brooke asked a bit sleepy headed, looking towards the empty bed that Kitami mysteriously gave up for the missing individual, “She making us breakfast? Taking a walk?”

“NO she…” Kitami’s head immediately shot up from her sleeping bag – or Carma’s that she’d crawled into – on instinct by hearing her friend’s name, “She told me last night that she wasn’t feeling well…and wanted to leave this morning as to…not be an inconvenience.”

“Really? Michiko said that?” Brooke narrowed her eyes towards that blonde, “well okay…I guess if that’s what she wanted-“ Just as the brunette was to crawl out of her sleeping bag, something small and fast came flying towards her though this time she was able to catch it between her fingers; her little sister Erica was wide eyed and ready to start the day apparently, “Though I guess she wouldn’t have time to be sick around here.”

“Get up you butts! Brooke, you said we’d show them the forest today!”

“Erica, don’t call my friends names. Only I can do that.” Turning back to a still half asleep Carma and Kitami who passed out again, it was clear to see that Brooke had her work cut out for her this weekend…but she was kind of okay with it.

\--

“Ryoichi, why would you ever try and go against an Aogiri ghoul single handed?!” Touka was quick to get the word about what had happened with his father from Masaya and Yomo and quite frankly she was not pleased, “When in doubt don’t go out! You know that without you kagune you’re not able to fight so why would you try to fight by hand when the weapon always wins?!”

“He was mocking me Touka,” The red head said keeping his head lowered and his body on his knees, “He knows how to hurt me Touka…He feeds off my pain, I swear!”

“And yet you buy into it by giving him what he wants?”

“Touka, you might have a clipped wing but you still can use your kagune and have something to show…but if you were as humiliated as me, a ghoul who eats people to survive and yet has no reason to anymore…is now only doing so out of getting to live…wouldn’t you be angry too?” For a moment she stared at him thoughtfully, but what he said was true about how he felt. He had to consume flesh…yet he had no real reason to if he couldn’t even get his RCs high enough to work his Ukaku. At least his father didn’t get the chance to see that state it was in. But soon, he felt something smack him across the face, it stung his cheek and throbbed on impact…did Touka just hit him?

“Don’t be so god damned selfish Ryoichi…you know you’re not the only one with problems…Do you know how badly I want to try eating cake or to have been able to consume my friend’s dishes that she used to work so hard to make me without throwing it up? No one here wants to eat humans but what choice do we have…We all have the right to live and in our case it’s a bit different. Why can’t you understand that?” He didn’t respond, much like a scolded child that kept their gaze away from their mother when being nagged, “I’ve also noticed that you’ve been avoiding your meat lately…why?!”

“You know why.”

“God…and you wonder why you’re in this state.” Letting out an annoyed sigh, the woman thought it would be best to leave him in his room for now; besides she clearly got her point across, “Don’t worry about working today…Masaya can take your shift. Stay up here with the kids today.” 

“But-“

“I said _stay here!_ ”

Ryoichi had never seen Touka this way towards him before, she was usually nicer to him and often babied him…but he didn’t really like that either. He was a man; he could stand on his own two feet. Just maybe not in the ways he was trying to. Once she was gone, Auralee and Kennedy peaked their heads inside the room, both looking a little concerned,

“Uncle Ryo…Are you crying?” The 12-year-old girl asked as she walked inside and took a seat next to him, placing a pair of cat ears on his head.

“Yeah…you look beat.” Her brother reasoned, sitting on his other side. They were so young and yet they already had their fair share of heartache and yet they weren’t dwelling on it…they were going on with life up here. The redheaded man smiled weakly towards them both,

“Well…that’s because I was beat. But don’t worry about me; I’ll be fine…I just need to get a little stronger.

“Kennedy, you should wear one too!” Auralee exclaimed, jumping across the way so that she could place some black cat ears on her brother’s head, though he only took them off and tossed them across the room.

\--

The train ride was long and tedious, but never was she so glad to arrive back in busy Tokyo.

She took a cab towards the house for quicker transportation; if she were to walk and have time to think about what she would say to him, there was a chance she’d back out. Michiko may not have known Hairu overly well…but she couldn’t help but wonder if she felt this way when she first found out.

Much like the Quinx’s Chateau and the beta Quinx’s Villa, the Suzuya squad also lived in a fairly big, western styled house to fit all of them and give them their own rooms. She didn’t text Mizurou before hand to even find out if he was home, which was probably a mistake on her part because when she answered Juuzou greeted her instead with a pudding in his hands. That would mean she’d be telling him along with the company of the rest of his squad...

“Oh! Hi’ya Michiko.”

“Suzuya, is Mizurou home?”

“Yep, come in.” she walked in with her hands carefully folded in front of her, the way she came in would have made people think she came to announce the death of a friend.

There he was, her fiancé was coming down the stairs from the second floor and as soon as he saw her his face lit up…too bad that she’d be the one to cause it to go away.

“Michi, what are you doing here so early? I mean I’m glad of course!”

“Mizurou…we need to talk. Alone.”

“Oh?” He glanced around the large open space of the down stairs living area, all his squad members seemed to be down there doing one thing or another and clearly he understood her point. He guided her up to his own room, though as she walked up she couldn’t help but make eye contact with Keijin who was reading a book on the couch. Maybe it was her anxiety that was playing with her mind but she felt like they were all staring at her…in a suspicious sort of way.

Mizurou closed the door behind him and he seemed to be curious himself as to why she called for something so out in the open without warning.

“Okay…I think we’re alone now.” He said to her as she took a seat on the end of his bed, her head starting to feel a bit light, “So what’s going on.”

“Mizurou…If I tell you this, will you hate me?”

“Nothing you tell me could make me hate you, unless you killed my family!”

“Stop it Mizurou! I’m being serious!” She really wasn’t in the mood for his humor; she was trying her best to get this out without her own body shaking with fear.

“Sorry sorry,” He quickly apologized taking a seat next to her, “you have me worried though, with the way you approached me back there I was afraid you were going to say you were pregnant or something. But that couldn’t be right since we’ve been using protection anyways.”

He just had to keep talking. When he said that Michiko felt as if she was going to throw up again, but she couldn’t right now, she couldn’t run away. She was on a mission to tell him, but after he said that it wasn’t going to be the same because now she was almost certain he wouldn’t want it.

“Actually Mizurou…that is why I came to see you.” She said, her heart burning inside her chest; or maybe it was acid as she held back her vomit, “I’m pregnant.” For a moment, she could have sworn his skin went grey as his face twisted as in trying to understand what she just said. 

“But we...Did our fail-safe _Fail?!_ ”

“It happens! Read the box.”

“What?!” Immediately jumping to his feet, he scrambled for the condom box that he usually kept for when they had their ‘ _sleep overs_ ’ and more importantly the last time they had sex was that night at the hotel. He remembered storing a couple in his pocket. Pulling it out he began scanning the box, looking for the warnings and least to say this is not how Michiko expected this confession to go, “They really need to put that in **bold** letters on the front! Maybe there was a tear in it or-“

“Mizurou that’s besides the point! Either way it happened…”

_Keep down the puke,_

_Keep it down!_

“Well I know it happened!” He started to pace back and forth, his face scrunched and his head in his hands, “But what I mean…we’re not even married yet.”

“That’s another thing,” she rose from her seat, putting a hand on her fiancé’s shoulder in a desperate plea for him to calm down as her own anxiety was high enough, “Do you want to keep it…? It’s not just my child and…I’m not sure I can parent alone Mizurou…” She knew she wouldn’t be alone but if he wasn’t interested, “There’s no point if only one of us wants it.” She could feel her vision start to blur so she turned herself away as she usually did; even after trying so hard not to. Why was she so afraid to cry in front of him?

“Michiko, you wouldn’t abort it?!” He gently reached out for her arm to stop her from walking away and when she looked at him again she noticed his gaze fall upon her abdomen.

“No!” she retorted, “I’d never kill it…I’d give it the chance at a better life.” Putting her child up for adoption, what a sickening thought considering that she knew well enough she could provide for it just fine. Mizurou looked at her in disbelief.

“But what if the family he or she goes to treats them poorly or doesn’t care about them…? What if they miss out on great opportunities and never get to experience all the little things? What if they’re not loved?” She could see that he too was trying hard not to let his sentimental side show, but she could see it crystal clear that he was being sincere with her. Pulling her close to him in a tight embrace he said, “Michi…I can’t let that happen. Even though I don’t know what will happen…I know that I will love the- our child with everything I’ve got. I’ll make sure they never have to fear ghouls or any thing that scares them…I’ll help them when he or she is unsure or needs an extra hand…I’ll always make time for them, no matter how chaotic life gets. Most importantly, I’ll be by your side the entire way.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I love you and would do anything for you, if that means being a dad then I’ll step up to it. You’ll never be alone Michi, not ever.”

Mizurou Tamaki would never know the gratitude she had for him at that moment. The way he said those words to her had broken any walls she had still standing and evidently as she cried into his shoulder as he held her close like this was evident enough, “This just means…We’re not allowed to die anymore, we’ve got to get through this hell together because there’s so many things I’ve got to teach Jr. before my time is up.”

“Stop it…” She chuckled, though that was a mistake on her part as she felt her gag reflex give way and with no time to run to bathroom, threw up on his shirt. Covering her mouth, she punched open the door – to where the rest of the Suzuya Squad was listening – and raced to the bathroom.

Mizurou held her hair back right until she finished, handing her a cup of water afterword.

“I’m sorry.” She said looking towards him weakly but he just shook his head and smiled,

“Don’t worry about it. Besides…I guess I’ll have to get used to being puked on.” Mizurou said just over the sounds of Hanbee's cries outside the door.

\--

“Ah, thanks for the coffee!” Hairu chirped as she and Koharu left :re later Sunday night, accompanied by Saiko, Akira, and even the zero squad kids that begged her to come along, soon made it back to Villa, “and all the Melon buns.”

“Of course,” Koharu said, taking her friend’s coats and hanging them in the front closet, “These little get togethers have been fun. I feel like…I’m getting to know you all better.”

“Same here!” agreed Saiko whom already turned on the PlayStation and plopped down into a beanbag chair in front of the TV, the three boy’s finding a place next to her, “Who knew going out was fun?”

“Refreshing. Though by mingling with co-workers like this and knowing more about you…it’s building more trust that we can use later in battle.” Akira added as she and the other 3 all took a seat on a small sofa Koharu invested in, mostly for Hairu.

“Yeah, I said the same thing to my squad. They all went away for the weekend to see Brooke’s parents I think-” Just as she said that, the door creaked open to show a pretty exhausted trio, “Speak of the devils.”

Yusa was the first to perk up in hopes of seeing Kitami walk inside as well. Shio and Rikai tried not to snicker.

“Hey’a Koharu,” Brooke waved, pushing her glasses up to get a better look, “Oh! You’re all here too? Saiko, what are you playing? Don’t touch my RPGs!”

“Hey, where’s Michiko?” Koharu asked as she looked at the door to see if she could spot the missing investigator, but she clearly was not there.

“Huh? Didn’t she come home already?” Brooke asked as she took a seat beside Saiko and Shio, “She apparently was feeling sick.”

“Yeah she was,” Carma said in a panic, “I thought I texted you!”

“I didn’t receive anything after Brooke’s phone call.” Their squad leader even pulled out her phone to double check. Nothing.

“Oh, there she is.” Shio looked over to the entrance where Michiko and the whole Suzuya Squad were marching in. Well this was anything but impressive because she didn’t look sick at all to Koharu; in fact she was glowing.

“Michiko, are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine, Koharu” Michiko said, though she didn’t expect to see the entire CCG in the living room. This was going to make things a bit difficult. Perhaps if she just pulled Koharu aside they could talk things over in professional manner,

“You sure you’re fine?” Carma asked, stepping next to Koharu’s side. In her hand, her phone had a picture of a waist bin…with her pregnancy text inside of it, “because this doesn’t look fine.”

“Carma-“

“Carma, what is that?” their squad leader asked, swiping the phone to take a look at the photo, her face making the same expression Mizurou’s did earlier, “Is that a pregnancy test…?”

“Carma you being a trash snooper?” Brooke laughed, but no one else did.

“I wasn’t. I went to the bathroom and there it was sitting on top of the pile. I doubt it was your sister’s because it wasn’t there earlier and the only two who went in before me was Kitami and Michiko. But it couldn’t be Kitami’s, she’s obviously not sleeping with anyone.” Michiko wasn’t sure if anyone else managed to catch the twisted smile on Carma’s face but she saw it in broad daylight, “I just thought this might explain something Haru-nee.”

“Hey, what do you think-“

“Easy Mizurou…” Akira said from behind Koharu and when Michiko looked back at her fiancé, he looked like he was ready to pounce for that phone. But he didn’t.

Finally Hairu rose from the couch, her own stomach had started to look a bit bigger then the last she’d seen her, but she went over to Michiko and gave her a look of sympathy.

“Ayase...is that true? That test-”

“Yes…it was mine.”

“I’m sorry…”

“No it’s fine…me and Mizurou are going to keep it! We’ve talked things over and decided that we’ll get married before it’s born and until we’re stable…one of use will move in with the other.”

“Really? I mean, that’s good for you two. Well I guess we’ll be in the same boat then!” Hairu and Michiko were both the same age too so at least she would be able to vent to someone about all this pre-stress. Who knows, maybe they could become friends too in the process and while she and Hairu weren’t really that similar they now at least had something in common.

“Yep! It’s a baby, a baby Tamaki!” Kitami blurted out, she was probably dying to say that, “I knew before anyone in this room! I even have the shirt to prove it!”

“We’re going to have a new member to our squad!” Juuzou cheered with Hanbee looking to the distance with a tear in his eye. Keijin looked disinterested as ever and Miyuki was also trying to fight his own emotions.

“I think you mean a new member to our squad.” Kitami said back.

“Nope, it’s already been decided. That baby is 100% Suzuya Squad material.”

But really Michiko was hoping it wouldn’t be a member of anyone’s squad. It would go to a normal school and get a normal education, no quinques and no battles. But it was kind of cute to see them bicker and fight over it. This poor child was going to get mauled over by Juuzou and Kitami! Oh well at least it will have plenty of aunts and uncles that will share the love.

“Whoa! Hairu, your kid’s going to have a buddy!” Shio pointed out, “Now it won’t be lonely!”

“I sense double trouble.” Yusa sighed, just picturing the three of them having to be the babysitters then he’ll never get a chance to be with Kitami.

But Koharu didn’t look as thrilled as the rest of them, in fact she stormed over and stepped in-between Michiko and Hairu!

“Thanks for the cheering, but please let me deal with my squad member, she seems to have forgotten something important!”

“Koharu!”

“Come Michiko…” Her leader grabbed Michiko by the hand and yanked her out of the crowd upstairs, she could even here Mizurou try and go after them but Keijin and Miyuki held him back.

 

“What were you thinking Michiko?!”

“It was an accident Koharu!” Her squad mate repeated over and over, but still she didn’t want to hear it, “We did use protection! This was not what we wanted to happen either but it did. What’s done is done!”

“So if a squad member dies, what’s done is done?!” She couldn’t help but be bitter about this, it certainly wasn’t out of jealousy, but more so it was going to put more stress on her shoulders then before.

“Why are you acting like this Koharu? You supported Hairu! Why not me?! I have a stable relationship, I’m able to provide, I understand I have to be careful!”

“Shut up Michiko! This has nothing to do with any of those things!” It really didn’t, “Don’t you understand? The Rose operation is this week and with you pregnant you can’t go on the battle field and do you know what that means?” She stared at Michiko for a moment, maybe to humor herself and see is she’d have the nerve to answer back right now, “It means I’ll have one less man – that much less manpower! Every body makes a difference and considering you have gripped a very good hold of your kagune skills as well as your quinque, this is going to be a major loss for us!” Michiko’s own strength and thought pattern is what made Koharu choose her to be the deputy squad leader in the first place; out of everyone these two had the most similar battle plan strategizes. Now that she so foolishly decided to have sex so soon, there was a chance that they might not be able to take down as many as she first predicted. First Hairu and now Michiko. They were doomed.

“Why are you so selfish Koharu?”

“I’m selfish?” the dark haired investigator looked offended, “you’re the one who’s stepping away from the group so you can have a kid!”

“Listen to yourself! All you’ve ever cared about for months is the fucking Rose Operation!”

“This **Fucking Rose Operation** may just give us a major break through! Don’t you see? If we succeed we’ll be recognized as more then just the beta-Quinx squad, we _will_ be the Quinx!”

Their yelling was so loud, that not even the closed door could keep their voices sheltered anymore. But they were so into their back and fourth bickering that they didn’t even care if the others heard them; in some ways they probably wanted them to.

“Fine, so you’re keeping the baby. You’ll get your fair share of office duties, but be warned, when all your friend’s bodies are lined up afterword’s…who are you going to blame?”

“How inhumane of a squad leader to say that!”

“At the end of the day, Michiko, what is more important, being humane for the individual or sustaining humanity? I’m an investigator and I have a job to do, I will be your friend but sometimes as a place of strength, I can’t bend to your every will or plea.”

 

On the other side of the door everyone waited impatiently, all listening to the arguing going on between the two.

“That’s it, that bitch has no right to-“ Mizurou was so fed up with this crap. He knew that this was no simple situation to be under, but at the same time he couldn’t understand why Koharu couldn’t just accept this fact and move on. She had to keep beating down Michiko and putting the blame solely on her. But he was part of this blame too then. Akira spoke up as well,

“I understand your frustration here but stop for a moment investigator Tamaki and put yourself in First Class Ui’s position. She’s leading a section of the upcoming operation and with one less solider means one less chance to win the battle. Ayase’s strong so loosing her puts this situation into a different perspective now and it’s Ui’s job to now find a way to work around it.”

“But what right does she have to take it out on Michiko?!”

“She doesn’t…but she stressed I think.” Juuzou adds, coming up next to Mizurou, “Though I can’t relate…I can still see why she’d be- upset.”  
Brooke and Kitami just stayed back in their own fear, Yusa stayed right next to Kitami wishing there was something he could do, same with Shio and Rikai. They were all feeling useless.

Carma on the other hand didn’t seem all that bothered, but she played her act well by dabbing her eyes with her sleeves.

“Stressed…” Hairu mumbled out though she didn’t expect anyone to here,

“You say something?” Saiko asked beside her, whoops! But she shook her head.

“No, just thinking out loud.”

 

If Koharu was stressed it wasn’t because of Michiko then, it was because of her! Hairu was the one who was first pulled from battle because of her pregnancy and therefore Ui handed her spot to his sister to take over. If she’d been in control, she would be the one dealing with this and not Koharu. Now Michiko was the one dealing with the backlash and she was in a better position then even Hairu was. She was engaged a prepped to be wed, Hairu and Ui were still only dating. Nothing was final but…for some reason, Hairu had the inner need to fix this mess. She created this after all. She loved Koharu…she was like a sister to her and with that deed of good friendship came a loyalty and Hairu was willing to trade that in and hit two birds with one stone.

“Let’s stop this Michiko!” Koharu finally barked, stepping back from her friend with her hands in the air.

“That’s it?! That’s all you’re going to finish with?”

“Yes, because there’s no reasoning with stupid.” She knew that Michiko wasn’t stupid, not at all, but her anger had finally run out of things to say that were true about her in a negative perspective, “Besides…I need to go for a smoke.”

\--

“KIRISHIMA!” The sound that breached :re one fine, late afternoon, nearly shook the walls down and the bell forgot too dingle above the door as Nishiki stormed inside nearly out of breath, “TOUKA!”

“I’m right here!” She said in a crewed tone, harshly placing down a bag of beans in the back room, “What do you-“

“It’s the Tsukiyama’s!”

Ryoichi’s head shot up from behind the counter by hearing the name. It belonged to a gentleman of sorts that he’d met only once, but the woman it was connected to was far more important. Masaya also seemed to get word as he was facing in Nishiki’s direction after coming in from sweeping out the shop.

“They’ve been exposed!”

“Exposed?”

“The Doves! They found them. They’re on their way to the estate!”

“How do you know this?”

“I just received a call from Matsume, the maid-butler chick, and said she was getting that jackass to safety!”  
Touka rolled her eyes, perhaps she didn’t believe him and from the last the Ryo saw the man he was bed ridden. Sighing she began to walk to the door that led upstairs, 

“I guess that means I’ll need to prepare a space for him. Alright.”

“You’re missing the point here Touka! The Tsukiyama’s are finished!”

“Umm, Nishiki!” Ryo piped in, stepping from behind the counter, “Did…Kanae happen to come up anywhere?”

“Kanae? What? No!”

“Where is she?”

“Beats me!”

Ryo looked over at Masaya who gave him a concerned glare. Something was not right with this picture. So Shuu was going to be fine, but what about his admirer who was never far behind?

“Nishiki? Do you have any details?”

“I know that the doves have started to make it to the estate; they’re fully surrounding it! Then they’re also heading towards some chained buildings in the city…strangely Aogiri’s been spotted there too.”

If Aogiri’s there…so is Ryo’s father. But first order of business is to find Kanae! Touka would never let him go alone…But he stopped caring anyways. He gave Masaya a nod; they had to get her back, she was important to him, family though not family. They would do this, alone if they had to. Stripping off his apron and Masaya putting his broom to the side, they started to make a leave.

“Where are you-?”

“Going to save Kanae!”

“Man, Touka’s going to kill you…probably you too Masaya!”

“Let her,” Ryo said, “Because I’d rather give my life to save one that matters.”

“MISS KIRISHIMA!” before they even got out of the door they were bombarded by a another tall man that Ryo faintly recognized, though it seemed that he remembered him too, “You’re not Touka…you’re that man that-“

“Shuu, can I call you that?”

“No”

“Tsukiyama…We heard about what’s kind of going on…But where’s Kanae? Is she not with you?”

“Kanae?” Tsukiyama looked shocked to hear the name, “I’m not sure, she’s been missing for- wait she? I haven’t…my father is- Kanae is-!“

“Calm down you lunatic!” Nishiki said stepping in-between them, “look Kanae’s been scarce for a while here, not sure about your manner, but these two idiots are planning on finding her-“

“You want to rescue my family?”

“Well…Kanae I do.” Ryoichi sighed, they had to hurry and they were waiting their time, “Look, I was once part of Aogiri so I know some hot spots that she may or may not be.”

“What about my father? Matsume?!” Tsukiyama was almost pleading at Ryo’s feet and least to say he felt a little uncomfortable, but if it was him in that state…he’d want help too. Though he’d never want to rescue his father.

“Okay Okay, we’ll save them too but let’s find Kanae first…besides I think she still needs to say something to you.” For a moment, Ryo felt kind of like some super hero going against the rules and preparing to risk himself for another, what a feeling! But just as Masaya and him were about to finally leave, Tsukiyama was not far behind!

“Then let me assist you,” He said taking a quick bow, “I know the estate and branches like the back of Kaneki just as you must for…Aogiri!”

Nishiki clicked his tongue,

“Damn it I hate to say it…but the creep has a good kagune too…You know what, I’m coming too. Maybe more so for shits and giggles but I guess the more the better.”

Now with 4 men heading out with Ryoichi and Tsukiyama in the lead, things were going to get much more difficult then just assuming they’d open a door and find what they wanted.

 

\--

 

“A white jacket suits you,” Koori Ui said as he walked into his sister’s office to her staring at herself in one of the tall mirrors, “You earned it. Today you’re part of the S1 squad after all.”

“Good to know death looks good on me.” She replied, turning away from him.

“Well…is the rest of your squad ready?”

“Yes, they’re already down stairs and loading the vehicles. I believe the Kijima and Quinx squad are also down there.”

Funny how Kijima was still bitter about him letting his sister join and lead part of the S1 squad instead of him. Too bad though, Ui just couldn’t trust that man and his sister had earned her place; just like she always wanted to do. She really should be more proud then this because if she walks out successfully, a promotion is most likely in store for her.

Soon, Michiko Ayase, the one member who wasn’t participating along with Hairu because of unfortunate circumstances had just walk in carrying a large stack a files the keep note of during the operation; most of them were wills. She looked over at Koharu and she looked at her, though neither of them exchanged words, Hairu had told them about an argument they had earlier in the week but Ui never asked for any details. After the woman put down the papers, Michiko walked over to her own desk and picked up a brief case to give to Koharu. A quinque case.

“Here, take mine today.”

“Thanks but I don’t need it.”

“Koharu, just take it, please!” Michiko tried shoving it into her squad leader’s hands, and quite frankly Ui wanted to call her an idiot for not taking it! But if he knew his sister, she wasn’t normally willing to take anything that she didn’t earn these days; including a nice new quinque that may or may not be the difference between life and death.

“I said I don’t need it. But thanks anyways.” The raven-haired investigator bumped past her squad mate and down the hall without even saying goodbye to her older brother.

 _Be careful out there_ , he wanted to say, but never had the guts to eek out.

“Please excuse her, Investigator Ayase.”

“It’s fine,” Michiko said, taking a seat at her desk to start sorting, “I’m not worried about it.”

“Koori!” Hairu called as she raced into the office, jumping into his arms though a little off guard,

“Hairu-“

“Please don’t die.” She was scared that she wouldn’t be there by his side, to change the outcome if it came to it. It was going to be hard for him to, not having her there either. But, they had more important things to protect now and for the smarter move, pulling her out of the operation would be best for everyone.

“I won’t, I promise.”

“And…keep an eye out for your sister…she hasn’t seemed right since-“

“I will…but I trust that Koharu will keep her ground, she’s done that for years…”

“Okay…Koori!”

“Yes?”

“I love you.” She then leaned up a little to give him a kiss and he effortlessly returned it.

“I love you too Hairu. Don’t worry, we’ll come back alive and successful.”

“Yo Bowl cut!” Saiko called outside of the beta-quinx office, behind her was Mutsuki and Shirazu, “You coming or what? Poor Michiko doesn’t need to see that!”  
Ui cleared his throat and backed away from Hairu, though Michiko didn’t look like she even noticed them, good. Picking up his own quinque case, he made it down to the first floor where everyone was prepped and ready to head to their locations. It’s been a long time since he’d seen everyone so firm and afraid, at least if they were afraid they could fight to keep alive.

With the Bureau also directing them, Ui felt suddenly more confident in that this operation would be as he promised, successful.

“Alright, let the Rose Operation commence, now quick to your locations!”

**“YES SIR!”**


	17. Sliver Threads and Golden Needles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made time to post a chapter.   
> I always say I won't have time but I do- I'm being productive for once!
> 
> This is where the drama starts! This chapter is pretty harsh, just a warning ;-;

“What is this?” Ryoichi asked as he and the other four ghouls stayed low as they all gazed up at a large building in the city, one that he personally wasn’t familiar with.

“Lets call it the Lunar Eclipse.” Shuu said, “It’s part of one of my family’s branches.”

“Is it also run by ghouls?” Masaya asked, lifting his head to get a better look at it. Of course it was, why else would the CCG be surrounding it; the sounds of gunfire and screams only added to solidify the fact, “something’s really going on in there…”

“There’s going to be lots of ground to cover…what if Kanae’s not even in there?” Nishiki sighed, preparing to put on his mask,

“She has to be, Tsukiyama said she wasn’t at the estate when he left and besides,” Ryo put his nose to the wind and through all the blood and exhausts, he could pick up Kanae’s scent - though not strong, “I know! I say we split up in two groups and search for her that way. Nishiki and Masaya, you go up to the top floors!”

“Really?” But really Nishiki shouldn’t have been complaining, Ryo was selflessly teaming up with Shuu for his sake.

“Then Tsukiyama, you and me scavenge the bottom floors.”

“Oui. I’ll show us all a safer way in through the back.”

Touka had warned him about this man once before, but he didn’t feel that same grudge. Perhaps it was because Kanae trusted him and if she did then he would try to do the same. After all, Ryo had no other option and if he was as strong as they said he was, then he had a bodyguard to fill in for Masaya.

“Alright…lets move.”

 

Masaya and Nishiki were able to be directed to the staircase that was currently unoccupied to reach the upper floors whilst Shuu and Ryo proceeded down the more battle consumed floors. So far, the two of them were walking over both the bodies of ghouls and humans, some impaled, some smashed, either way a dark cloud of death hung over this place.

“You know…she spoke fondly of you – Kanae I mean.” Ryoichi, not sensing anyone coming near by felt safe to speak, “She really cares about you…”

“I could say the same about you,” the man responded, much to his surprise! “I remember her sometimes coming into my room and talking to me to try and ease the pain. She brought you up many times, talking about your progress and the things you’ve been through.”

“She has?”

“I’ll admit…I feel, a bit of empathy for you,” Shuu glanced back at the redheaded ghoul almost sympathetically, “I can’t imagine not having a caring father…even when he was away he gave me kind notes and sent Kanae to play to keep me company – I’m sure it was on her own wishes – but It must have been lonely growing up for you. No family, no friends.”

“Don’t rub it in…” but he was right, it was lonely. Unfortunately back then he was only a kid, a kid who had no control over any thing and had to sit back and take it.

_A flower can’t choose where it grows after all._

As the two of them made it farther and farther up some floors of the building, Shuu was able to lead him down some quick and unattended halls, at least until something impaled Shuu from above; slicing part of his chest and face. Ryo wheezed.

“What is this-?”

“You’re Shuu Tsukiyama,” A woman, with striking blue hair and a claw-like kagune came crashing down from the floor above that stood 20 feet away from the men, Hideyori Shion, “is that correct?”

“Oui, mademoiselle, this is correct,” The purple haired individual cackled as his body was quick to repair itself, “Now if you’ll please excuse us, we’re on the look for another fine young lady.”

“I can’t let you through. The higher ups said I had to keep you occupied.”

A member from Aogiri and a long lost friend of Ryo’s…though he wouldn’t be able to fight her even if he wanted to. Without a kagune of his own he was toast! Luckily, Shuu was willing to take over as his weapon pierced through the back of his shoulder and his ghoulish side flared. He asked Ryo to continue, 

“Let me deal with this one. Go find Kanae! _Tout suite_!”

Ryo made eye contact with Hideyori, she didn’t seem bothered but if she knew they were here…did the rest of Aogiri know? Picking himself up from his thoughts, he quickly dashed out of the area, making sure not to look back at either of them because if he did he might jump in and try to help; even if he wouldn’t be helpful at all.

“Let me ask you, are you here alone or is there anymore?”

“Why would I answer to that?”

“Because when I kill you,” Shuu was quick on his feet and eagerly attempted to slash at the bluenette who jumped back, using her kagune for extra force, “I want to know if I’ll have anymore incompetents to get as well.”

“I really don’t think you should sound so sure of yourself…you might be a Tsukiyama but I don’t think of you any higher then a stray dog.” In response, Hideyori also maneuvered herself towards him, in-between the giant claws were kicks and punches that seemed to never have an end to them; yet she never laid a finger on him! He smiled in such a way that would mistaken him for being the bad guy,

“Oh but…I think maybe you should think higher of me.”

“Why-“ But before she could take another swing at him, Shuu took hold of her arm and twisted it inside out as to break it and pull it out of it’s socket. Hideyori let out ear-ringing scream but not for long as she had to get out another comment,

“You idiot…I’ll be able to repair in seconds-“ But Shuu had already done something within those seconds, he’d managed to twist and tie up her kagune, right up close to it’s breaking and point. But worst of all, he took a giant bite out of her shoulder leaving her nearly in tears as she fell to the ground cupping her wound. With one that deep, it would take more then just seconds to heal.

The man licked his lips and stuck out his tongue,

“I’m sorry my dear but you do not taste as good as one would think…no flavor, no good. But since you’re a friend of Ryoichi’s…I suppose I could let you live for now-“

“What?! I’m no-“

“Speak anymore and I’ll change my mind.” Again he smiled at her, though inside he wanted to vomit for doing so, what Aogiri trash deserved to live? But if Ryo were once part of Aogiri and deserved life…maybe he’d give her that gift for now. So long as she didn’t follow, “Now if you’ll excuse me I have my own damsel in distress that needs saving, and I as her knight with my loyal sidekick will save her.”

But that girl, Hideyori Shion, didn’t really give her all just then did she?

\--

It was a moment like this where Hairu knew she was acting foolishly, but her love for Koharu had blinded her a bit too much that she’d nearly forgotten something else that was important to her. But in her mind, she was still fit enough to fight, she’d be able to watch herself yet, she’d take up the spot that was missing and help her friend’s confidence go up. However, doing it in secret would be the challenge.

Walking up to the Eclipse building in her usual white investigator coat, though with the hood up so no one could see, she marched in with her quinque case with both fear and pride, hoping that she’d be able to help Koharu, to help the fight, for humanity.

\--

Koharu’s portion of the S1 squad was moving quickly and all by instinct instead of command.

Koharu herself was able to take down many ghouls, even without a quinque of her own, her kagune skills proved much progress as she easily caught her pray.

Kitami almost lost herself a couple of times by nearly tripping over her own feet through her playful antics. This was no game and her leader wished she would be taking this more seriously, but Kitami was still very impressive and proved to keep up.

Brooke’s speed and distance range-impalement was majorly successful and was able to take down just as many as her friends. Unlike her airheaded teammate, she was serious about the operation and took every fault out on her team, even telling Furuta and Kijima to ‘hurry up’ or ‘pick up!’ when they fell back. But without an Ukaku, no one was able to match her speed.

Most of these ghouls were workers in the facility and others were used as defense and back up.

The one who was fighting at the most immaculate and incredible rate was Carma. Even quicker on her feet then before, she was slashing, dicing and tearing apart her victims in sections at a time, not out of work but out of anger! So much so that the rest of the group kept a far distance from her incase she mistook them for the enemy.

“You might want to think about reigning her in…” An investigator noted to Koharu as they watched the pinkette take down 3 more ghouls in a single attack, Kijima cackled from behind,

“I say let the girl do her thing. She’s obviously making a dent here!”

Furuta could only smile a little as he watched her go on the rampage, but he didn’t dare interfere.

Halting the group, Koahru leaped ahead to where her squad mate was continuously beating down on a body to assure its lifelessness.

“Carm- Investigator Kimura, step back please. You’re going against The Countermeasures Act by preforming that way.” Carma’s headshot up by hearing her leader’s voice, she turned back to look at the group and then down at the bodies. Obeying, she stepped away and fell back to re-join the others. There have certainly been changes going on inside of Carma, Koharu had noticed that all too well. Even at the Villa, the little garden that the pinkette loved so dearly had been neglected recently and the flowers had started to wilt and rot. She often stayed late after hours to train instead of hang out and when she agreed to go on that trip Koharu was surprised. Since when she was home she also acted in secret and often kept to herself. Her diet also hadn’t been well as she refused to eat hardly anything. It often made Koharu wonder if maybe-

“ **LOOK OUT!** ” Kitami shoved her squad leader out of the way as something came shooting towards them, a Koukaku?! She may not always seem like it but Kitami was dependable alright.

A female ghoul approached them, her attire was that of a butler suit and she held her own kagune like a sword but behind her the rest of it sprawled. A knight.

“Tsukiyama…You work for them correct?” Koharu asked, “Matsume I assume from our files.”

“Does who I am really matter to you?”

Koharu snarled, something like a dog,

“Yes I suppose you’re right. Ghouls have no place in this world which means I get to kill you. Good bye.”

“You fail to know me and yet you want to kill me? Why must humans always do this…I’ve seen it all ages, you all think on your own behalf and only see what you wish to see; I’m a monster, is that what you see through that lens that is your eyes?”

Quickly, Brooke’s Ukaku launched shards of her ice-like fragments, though none of them making a dent into the ghoul as she plastered them into thin air.

“Damn it! How dare you talk to our leader that way?!”

“I’m afraid I’m not the one with the fast tongue.” She replied, impaling the brunette in return and cutting right through her center and tossed her body to the side. Brooke coughed up blood as a result, but none as much that was seeping out of a hole in her stomach area. 

“Brooke!” Kitami shouted but had no time to look back at her injured friend as she had to fight off another ghoul who was there to help Matsume, but it was quick to see how fast this ghoul was as she was able to slip past the front group and kill off the investigators coming in, “Someone, call for help, get special class Ui’s team up here!” This ghoul was going to be more then they could chew.  
Kitami fought with all her might, her Rinkaku’s nine tails multitasking as both a shield and a weapon as she stood in front of Brooke to protect her from anything else hurting her.

“Kitami…?” Brooke muttered out, struggling to reach for her own quinque case but was in so much pain, failed to do so. Not even her quinx ability was healing her fast enough.

“Stay down! You’ll be fine! I-“ The blonde gritted her teeth as she fought back the ghoul, managing to injure it slightly but not enough! She had to keep pushing, to keep fighting! Or it might not just be Brooke on her deathbed.

As for Koharu, her and Carma, along with other subordinates, were all trying to tackle down Matsume but with each attack they seemed to have come farther and farther from making any progress. The bodies were starting to pile on their end of this war.  
Koharu heaved as all her aches and injuries started to heal at a their slow pace; not fast enough to keep up with the fight. Carma on the other hand was doing well still and didn’t seem to have any sign of lagging as she continued to push herself, out of them all she had the closest proximity…maybe if somehow Koharu and the other’s were able to all get around they could surround the ghoul and move in that way. The hard part was her not seeing them,

“Everyone mov-“

But instead, someone danced their way into this fight, someone in a white coat and a magnificent quinque that managed to take off part of the ghoul’s Kagune causing her to wince. When the mysterious investigator landed, her hood slipped off revealing her bright pink hair and those magnificent Ihei-green eyes. No.

“Hairu, what are you doing here?!” Koharu wanted to scream, she wanted to shove her out of this place, she was sure she was hallucinating! But all the pinkette did was wave, 

“Koharu…Please just….This is all my fault so, I’m going to fix it. Let me help you-”

“What’s you’re fault?! Hairu you’re not making any sense what are you doing here?! Get out! Get out before you-!” Matsume was quick to attack again, though this time in the direction of Kijima’s squad.

 

For his case, Furuta was lucky that no one saw how he used his co-workers as shields from the ghouls that attacked in his direction. Every. Single. One. Even his own partner. Not out of cowardice, but out of ‘succeeding’ as he saw it.

 

**Now!**

Koharu saw her chance, her opening to kill the ghoul! It was open from the side facing them and they’d have a direct shot!

She’d have to deal with Hairu later.

“Carma!” She called, hopping that she was sane enough to hear and just as the two were about to attack, along with Hairu, the ghoul that Kitami was fighting off had quickly averted and was coming to Matsume’s aid. But not before Kitami had the chance to cut him clean from the waist up. Somehow, with that last bit of life, he managed to aim himself towards the three other investigators and more so to the one with the least ability to fight. Koharu had to think quick as she had two options,

_Kill Matsume and Let Hairu die_

_or_

_Save Hairu, Matsume may kill them all._

**Humanity…being humane.**

But Carma was still alive and moving…so was Kitami…they could get Matsume. Right now, Koharu had 2 lives to save.

Quickly retreating in a speed only she could maneuver, Koharu extended her Kagune in such a way that it acted as a large shield, leaped to push Hairu to the ground and covered her.

She didn’t remember much after that. She remembered seeing tears in Hairu’s eyes and Kitami’s screams before just seeing red.

\--

When Ui received the distress signal coming from the beta-Qs, he instantly knew that something must have indeed gone wrong. Koharu knew what was to be expected; he knew that she wouldn’t overlook any of their detailed plans, but what if something even greater then they thought came to threaten them?

_Please be alright._

_Please be alive._

Rushing up the stair’s with some other investigators from S1, they all ran down the hallway and right to where the distress call had came from and the first thing that caught his eye was balling eyed Kitami clutching onto an unconscious Brooke. Next to some of the bodies was Carma, drenched in blood and tears pouring down her cheeks with Furuta just managing to stand. But even beyond the bodies was someone leaning over, shaking one of them and through a muffled voice tried calling her name,

“Koharu! Koharu…get up!” and he knew that voice – Hairu?!

His feet moved before his mind did as he went next to the pinkette’s side and leaned down to see if that really was Hairu. When she looked up at him, green eyes and all, there was no denying to himself that she was there on the battlefield.

“Hairu what are you doing here?!” He said it in an angered tone, and he meant to do so! What foolish, pregnant, airhead would show up to the rose operation?!

Covering her mouth to quiet her sobs, she looked back down at the corpse below her and at first he didn’t know who it was. The woman it looked like was…but he feared to know if it was to be the worse case scenario. Gulping what was left of his saliva, he carefully moved some of the woman’s dark hair and when he saw the face he nearly threw up. 

_No._

_No._

_Oh God NO!_

“Koharu!” He shouted, taking a look at the body only to see that her left arm had been cleanly sliced off and there was also a wound in her upper back that traced all the way to the missing limb. Quick blood loss was most likely the true cause of her death…not even Qs could repair with that kind of damage, especially at such a low stage. Gripping his quinque, he fought back any of his emotions, instead only thinking about those who were alive and awaiting his command; they were still in a war after all.

“Alright…some of you carefully take injured down to the medical team, those of you who can still walk come with me!” 

“Yes Sir!”

Once the three injured survivors were taken away, Kitami was quick to be by Ui’s side and desperate to tell him of the situation and what had happened, but he was in such a way that he didn’t care to hear about it just now.

“Tell me after…let’s find Sasaki…If this is how your group managed I’m afraid to think of how his is doing.”

“But…Special Class!”

“Not now Investigator Kitami!” This time he didn’t mean to bark at her, he knew she was just trying to help and give some reasoning to this uncanny scene…but frankly no matter what she would tell him there would be little chance in him actually believing it. But they were just that…Investigators signed up for this and death was to be expected, but he fooled himself into thinking that death wouldn’t even take someone that precious from him. Sighing, he urged for the other two to follow along the rest of S1 and to find the other Qs.   
This is why combining ghouls with humans was unrealistic, anything that those monsters touched would eventually deteriorate in one way or another; living or dead.

That’s why he forbid his sister from going through with this. Now he couldn’t say ‘I told you so.’

\--

So far, Ryoichi had managed to go unnoticed by anyone as he made his way up some of the floors. There were plenty of moments when he was nearly caught by a dove, but none that he had to worry about as they were all ready too preoccupied in their own fights. Good thing he had his mask on, though it was getting hot under it.

Kanae

Kanae

Kanae where are you?!

If he could find her they could all get out of this place and then rescue Shuu’s father. Because by this point Ryoichi was starting to hate being the hero and really just wanted to head back to the safety of :re.

“Ryo?!”

“Nishiki!” Luckily he was able to catch up with the other two whom didn’t seem to have any better of luck finding the purplette either.

“Where’s the French Fry?” Nishiko asked, taking a look behind Ryo to see he’d come up alone,

“Dealing with- Aogiri!”

“Really? Well okay-“ But they’d spoken too soon as the ghoul they’d just talked about rounded the stair case and joined them,

“I’ve returned!”

“Darn.”

“Shuu- Um, Tsukiyama, what happened with?” In some ways, Ryo was hopeful in that he didn’t kill her. She was not his friend – his ex – but still someone he used to know. Luckily for him Shuu declined in ever killing the poor soul,

“Do not worry. She lives on for now and I doubt she’ll follow, she should know better since it’d be four against one anyways.”

The search continued, and despite being there as an enemy, Ryoichi kept a look out for Koharu as she was a dove and had a good chance of being there too. Again, he considered himself lucky to not see her as he didn’t want to face her and certainly didn’t want Masaya to see her either. Because he’d kill her in an instant.

“Hey…what’s – no…who’s that? Up there!” Nishiki stopped the small group and looked up to what was an open balcony that over looked the floor and someone with a mask was standing over it holding a head. Shuu put his nose in the air to get a scent and once he got it he was adrenalized,

“That’s her! That’s Kanae!” Running up the staircase, the other three quickly followed suit without even taking warning that Kanae may not recognize them. But there was no denying it was her, Ryo could just feel it…but he’d never seen her with a mask like that.

“Kanae!” Ryo called from behind, not realizing that his voice would echo off the walls! When she saw them, she rolled the head aside and leaped over to the men, her Kagune out and ready to attack. Now out of habit, Masaya leaped in front of his red headed friend and blocked her from reaching him…but it was if she couldn’t see that Shuu was there too.

“Argh!”

“Masaya I-“

“Just stay back, Ryo!” Nishiki ordered as he too started to attack the woman, thrashing left, right and center with the tall man. Bikaku’s were all over the place and Ryoichi didn’t know what to do! But the purple haired man dared not to attack her; perhaps even he was afraid to see her this way and if he wasn’t going to do anything well Ryoichi would save her the only way he could.

“Nishiki, Masaya! Stop!”

“What do you mean stop?!” Nishiki asked with a grunt, “She’ll kill us!” Kanae didn’t seem hesitant…but how could she not recognize them?! Furrowing his brows and taking a breath, the red headed ghoul stepped up so that she would be able to hear him loud and clear,

“Kanae! Stop this! Don’t you see who they are!?”

She didn’t respond, she didn’t even stop, and he wouldn’t either,  
“Kanae! It’s me, Ryoichi! And Nishiki and Masaya too! Stop it!” and just like magic, the ghoul stopped and paused, facing Ryo though still not speaking and instead came a muffled tone like her lips were together. Carefully, he approached her a little closer,

“Kanae…It’s alright…We want to help you-“

“Um Ryo! Let’s move this to somewhere else!” Nishiki yelled as he pointed to the hallway in front of them with a small group of doves were heading and Ryo recognized some of them. The blonde and the pink haired investigators that were in the front were two that tried to kill him months ago and were in the underground tunnel’s, he certainly wasn’t going to stick around to say hello.

 

Masaya also glanced in that direction and though while it wasn’t purposeful, his gaze landed on the one in front with the bright, long pink hair…

No that couldn’t be-

For some reason, his mind must have been fooling him into believing that girl was Carma, _his girl_. But there’s no way that could be her…what would such a kind, gentle girl be doing with them? But it sure looked an awful hell like her!

“Let’s move!” Ryo called, pushing on Masaya’s back to urge him to move his feet, but he wanted to keep looking at that investigator…maybe he wasn’t dreaming. 

Carefully, Shuu picked up Kanae in bridle style and assured her that it would be okay and luckily she didn’t resist. 

“Let’s head back to :re!” said Ryoichi,

“But…my father!” replied Shuu as they started to run just out of sight of the doves.

“No, we need to get Kanae to safety first! We’ll look later.”

“…You’re right…Let’s take care of her first.” He was dealing with this rather well, Ryo had to admit, maybe because he did care for her.

\--

Back at the CCG, Michiko passed around in her office even late into the night. She couldn’t go into the any of the main operating rooms as her current rank didn’t permit it without being accompanied by her squad leader so she couldn’t receive any information about her squad. But being there alone in that room only gave her more time with her thoughts and more time to think about Koharu’s words.  
What if they died and it was her fault?

Finally sitting down at her desk as nausea started to kick into her system, she started to realize just how useless she already was just being there. She should be there supporting her team and she was stuck here with an extra weight holding her back. Useless or not…she couldn’t feel completely guilty as much as she should be because even if there was no physical evidence yet…she still loved this little life; it depended on her and she would do her best to assure it’s safety.

Maybe it would be best to go home and get some rest for the remainder of the night, Michiko would find out the results of the operation in the morning and hopefully, see everyone return.

Indeed, the next morning was a shock for her as a very warn down Kitami and Carma were the only one’s to step through the Villa’s front door. With them, Hairu and Ui as well but there was no sign of Brooke or Koharu.

_Oh god!_


	18. Dance With The One That Brought You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this early again because these chapters are even making me excited-!
> 
> Enjoy~!

Maybe Koharu was right…Maybe Michiko was the selfish one.

“Wha-! Kitami? Carma?” Michiko stumbled off the small sofa and frantically ran to her friend’s sides but Kitami couldn’t bare to spread the news. Carma was also horrifyingly quiet, even for her, and Hairu was nearly in tears herself. 

Ui…Michiko didn’t know how he was doing and personally she didn’t want to know.

“We all need to talk.” Ui said, startling them all with his dark tone, “ _Now._ ”

“What. _Happened?_ ” Michiko asked again, now looking at Kitami almost desperately for an answer. Sadly, the blonde guided her over back to the sofa where she sat her down along with the other expectant mother, while the rest of them stood with their heads lowered. If she wanted an answer…she’d get one.

“Michiko um…The operation failed.”

“Failed?!”

So many investigators died and their alter motive to get rid of their main targets was unsuccessful. She also explained to her about how Brooke had been sent to the hospital in life-threatening condition but should recover. Shirazu from the Qs had also been killed, poor Saiko.

Kitami also spoke of the death of Koharu where Hairu turned away and didn’t dare look at her boyfriend. Clearly this was a lot of information for Michiko to take in at once, as she couldn’t even find the emotion to cry, not even with her out-of-whack hormones.

“Carma and me did manage to kill the ghoul, Matsume, but…” Kitami’s voice choked and she fell to her knees as the image of Koharu’s body flashed in her memory. Carma was not far behind in the waterfalls that fell from her own eyes. 

Their co-worker,

Their leader,

Their friend had fallen without a warning or a good bye.

This all happened…Because-

“It’s because I wasn’t there!” Michiko shouted, “Koharu was right…this is-“

“No…No it’s not!” Hairu assured, placing a hand on her shoulder, “I…This was not your fault, it was mine! I mean…I was supposed to be to leading that part of the operation and…because of my melon bun, It was dumped into her hands at last minute and…I just felt so bad!”  
“Speak a bit clearer Hairu!” Ui said in a sharp tone, “What do you mean this was your fault?! Why did you fight!?”

“The only reason I did that Koori…was to try and help her! I wanted to take down her stress and help her with the operation just as it was originally planned…So I snuck in to try and help and I never guessed I was to get in the way - my pregnancy - It…I couldn’t move in the same way like I usually can. I thought I’d be the same but I was slow and she died to save me Koori! She saved my life! Our baby’s life!”

So Hairu went to the operation?! Michiko didn’t even notice her absence in the CCG…and Koharu, her honorable squad leader died trying to save her.

For a moment, Ui had nothing to say to the pinkette for her honest explanation. He was angry about this – all of this! To have seen Hairu so exposed to danger in such a delicate manner and to find out why she did it made him even more incensed!

But still…he couldn’t deny that his sister was braver then he could ever be and to know that she and Hairu had such a bond that they both purposefully went out of their ways for each other made him somewhat lost in emotions.  
But this didn’t change the fact that Koharu was dead and that Hairu nearly died herself!

“Hairu…How could you possibly think you’re in fighting condition?! Are you really that brainless?”

“Koori!”

For a moment, even Kitami and Carma’s sobs ceased as they both stared wide-eyed at their superior and the way he just spoke to her. But Ui was so lost in his rage that he didn’t care if they all saw this, maybe it would all inform them of the dangers of fighting in this condition if they were to ever go down a similar rode; he hoped they wouldn’t though.

“No Hairu! You were told to stay back and to stay put while pregnant not just for the safety of the child but of yourself! Your thoughtlessness cost my sister’s life and nearly yours too! How can you be so selfish as to act on something that wasn’t true!?”

“I did it to help her!”

“Help her?! Hairu she’s an – was an investigator! She knew what was coming and as such needed to prepare under pressure. This might have been her first big gig but that’s no excuse to as why she wasn’t ready; she would’ve been doing this regularly if she survived. You had no right to interfere with her stress and in fact if you didn’t she would still be alive!”

Ui’s voice had reached the point to shouting and in the corner of his eye could see Kitami holding onto Carma and Michiko aghast as she leaned back into the sofa. Maybe this wasn’t the best time to yell at Hairu’s idiocy, they were all upset…not just him; he had to keep that in mind. But that was a challenge Ui would certainly struggle with. Grunting he tried to calm himself a little but not before his girlfriend also started to cry and finally, out of some foolishness of her own, Michiko spoke up,

“So Special Class…who do you blame?”

“I easily blame my stupid sister. If she didn’t over react and kept a cool head she could’ve avoided this whole mess…her death isn’t in Hairu’s hands…it’s in her own.”

“How can you say that?!”

“That’s just the way things are, Ayase-…I mean, Michiko,” Ui wanted to shoot himself for saying such a thing about his sister because he knew she’d never say such words over his grave. Yet, his mouth kept moving as if he were talking about the enemy instead of his kin, “She already knew what she was getting into. She just wasn’t strong enough.”

“That’s not true!” Kitami piped up, “Koharu was strong! Stronger then any of us! I don’t blame her, I don’t blame Hairu either. It’s no one’s fault…like you said…we’re investigators and she…What is this blame game going to do anyways?! It won’t bring her back.”

With all these women crying around him, Ui really needed to take a step back and collect himself even more. But Kitami was right, this yelling and nonsense wouldn’t bring her back to life and right now, these girls needed some kind of sympathy…even Ui was humane enough to see that now. Taking a breath, he firstly apologized to Hairu,

“Look…I’m sorry. I’m just mad…at everyone! Not for a good reason but…I was out of line to take it out on you.” Especially out of indecency to do it in front of them all.

“But you were right, Koori, I was brainless…I thought over myself and…I nearly killed our child.” Standing up from her seat, she tripped over to him, wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his shoulder, “please don’t be mad Koori…Koharu wouldn’t like it…”

_You’re not brainless, Hairu…you have a heart too good for this world._

There would always be an anger burning inside of him…and in truth he did blame someone or something.

 **Ghouls.** Fucking monsters that had to eat away at the core of his soul and heart.

But there was one more problem he still had to deal with now,

“Umm…If I may ask. What’s going to happen now?” Michiko looked towards her two other friends who were curled up in a small huddle on the floor then looked back at him helplessly. What were they to do without their leader? They could handle themselves…maybe. But they were all still fairly young adults and needed some guidance. Arima and Akira were usually busy with the Quinx squad that these girls were often over looked by them, even if they were their responsibility as well…

_Is that why Koharu disliked the reaper?_

But the squeaky wheels always get more oil.

Then again…there was another promise he made to his sister once if she died,

_‘if anything ever did happen to me, I want my squad to be under your command…you’re the only one I could trust that would care for them as I would.’_

He did say he would…not that he expected that he would be. Still she trusted him and he’d fulfill that wish of her’s even if he had to beg to the Bureau.

“I’ll see what I can do for you all…for now, clean up and get some rest. You need it.”

\--

Even once they were out of sight of the building, Ryo and friends continued to run at full pace all the way back to the café where a very annoyed Touka stood at it’s doors. Her arms folded and her brows furrowed, but Ryo could hear her sigh when she spotted them. He was in for an earful later, but saving Kanae was worth every bit of Touka’s nagging.

They brought her upstairs where Mirumo Tsukiyama also greeted them – or as Ryo didn’t catch his name, Mr. Tsukiyama - and the look on his son’s face was something he would never have worn if he ever came in contact with his own father again.

“I!” Shuu looked as if he was about to cry and run over to the other man who had a pretty calm expression considering, but the only thing on his mind must have been Kanae as he pushed passed his father and seated the woman on the couch. Everyone gathered round, Ryoichi and Shuu next to her as the gourmet took off her mask and to their horror saw that both her eye lids and mouth had been sown shut together, “Kanae!”  
Now, the poor ghoul started to rip at her eyes, trying to free herself from it’s coils! But quick into action Ryoichi held her hands away from her face as Shuu quickly started to cut the strings with a small pair of scissors Touka handed to him; all the while speaking kind and reassuring words to Kanae to keep her at bay. He first cut loose her eyes and the tiny holes started to bleed out, though it didn’t seem to bother her much and a panic look started to take over her features as if trying to understand everything around her now. Ryo smiled at her, loosening the grip on her hands as Shuu finally took the thread out of her lips to which she gasped, blood also falling into her mouth.

“RYOICHI?!”

That was her first word? His name? Why would she pick him over the love of her life that was the one who initially saved her? He didn’t say anything back and instead walked over to Masaya to give the two some time and instantly the Gourmet had his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

“I was so worried about you…!”

“You…Were?!”

“Of course! As soon as I got the news that you’d been missing I- The estate…it’s gone. But that doesn’t matter as long as I have you back…my sweet.”

“Should we…give them a moment?” Masaya asked, starting to hide behind his hat – or his face at least. They all left the tiny living room to go down stairs and give the two some time together, it seemed like Tsukiyama Shuu and Kanae Von Rosewald had some explaining and confessing to do.

But Ryo stayed close to the door and listened to her story about how she had fallen under depression just a few weeks back and had come across some an unlikely ghoul who’d tricked her into some unthinkable torcher both mentally and physically. Oddly, Ryocihi knew exactly whom she was talking about.

Eto.

But Kanae probably already assumed he knew her, from being a former member of Aogiri and all. Still…how could he have not noticed? Her absence from the café was a sure sign and yet the last time he attempted to find her Ryo was stuck to have a horrid meeting with uncouth father. Even more curiously, Ryo opened the door a little bit as to peak in on what else they were talking about.  
Shuu’s face looked heartbroken, he was the reason all of this happened to her and that guilt must have brushed to an untouched part of his soul. Poor guy.

“Kanae…I never – I didn’t know you had such feelings for me. I guess I should’ve known…after everything you’ve been doing for me all these years and the way you’ve acted. I’m sorry…This is-“

“Stop it. I’m the one to blame…this is my own fault for beating around the bush instead of being honest with you and with myself…I lied to be a man to be able to serve you because I loved you…but I never acted on anything because I only assumed that you wouldn’t feel the same. Maybe if I’d said something I would have been able to find your answer instead of play this stupid guessing game!”

“Man or woman…Kanae, you’re every bit as beautiful as the rose’s you grow in your garden. And if we’re being honest here,” Shuu’s cheeks had started to turn a shade that no one on planet earth had ever seen for the reason he was about to state, “I’ve always kind of had…feelings for you. I’ve been so caught up in my search…I foolishly pushed you aside.” There was a break of silence as the two of them just looked into each other’s eyes, Ryoichi just looked at the ceiling.

“Honesty…then please call me by my real name!” Kanae blurted and this caught Ryoichi’s attention again, “Karren!”

_Karren…_

She said to him once that she was a runaway…did she use Kanae as a type of code name or something? The red head was left to wonder. As weird as this little bit of eavesdropping was he was also glad to know the truth.

“Karren…how beautiful. I shall call you by that from now on as you wish.” Shuu responded, leaning down to kiss her on the hand making her blush, something Ryo hadn’t seen before either! “So…. what do you say my dear? Shall we become as you say…partners?”

Okay.

Ryo took this as his queue to leave as he didn’t want to listen to any more of this conversation. But he was happy to see that Kanae- Karren! Had found the love she’d worked so hard to earn. The girl deserved that happiness.

Just as he made it back down to the café’s floor, someone grabbed him by the arm and twisted it to the point of breaking it!  
His screams meant nothing to Touka as she watched him flail to the floor in agony,

“That’s what you get for performing that stunt!” referring to him being a hero? He does a good deed and he’s being punished for it, what sense does that make! Looking over, he could see Masaya and Nishiki cupping their ears…how come all they got was an ear twisting?!

But like he said before, Karren’s happiness was what this was about and besides…his arm would heal anyways. A broken heart wouldn’t.

\--

“You want to take supervision over the beta-Quinxs?” never had Ui seen Yoshitoki react in such a way to a request, “I’ll admit I never expected this out of you of all investigators.”

Arima and Akira sat next to him in the meeting with the Bureau as they also had to agree to the transfer, but before hand they already accepted, as they also already knew his reasoning.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Let me remind you I’m speaking as a friend,” The bureau sighed, “But you have a child on the way don’t you? Do you really want this extra stress under your belt?”

“I know what I’m walking into…but this was my sister’s request before she died and I will fulfill it no matter what. I want her to rest in reassurance.” Ui clenched his fists in his lap as he spoke. This was harder then he thought it would be to convince the transfer but once he gave up his true reason to the Bureau, he smiled leaning over the table with his hands cupped supporting his chin.

“You have a great sense of honor, Koori Ui, I’m sure she’s proud. But if you really want to take this into your own hands and Arima and Mado agree,” He glanced at the other two whom gave him a nod and therefore Yoshitoki gave his own approval, “then by my power I’ll leave them under your watchful eyes…I’ll have to send this information to Tsuneyoshi Washuu for final conformation as well but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t go through.”

“T-Thank you!” Ui quickly rose from his seat and bowed so low and so fast he nearly hit his head on the table. But this was good, the girls should be glad to hear the news! So he assumed. But Yoshitoki added something else.

“While I have the three of you here there is something else coming up in the next month you should know about.”  
“What is that, sir?” Akira asked, urging Ui to sit back down again.

“There will be some new additions to the teams. Both Quinx Squads will be receiving some new recruits from both the academy and the garden.”

New members? Was this to fill in for the deaths that had occurred on the last mission…his mission? But this wasn’t his say and he’d already asked enough of the Bureau today…but more garden children would mean Ui would have some education added into their training.

But first things first, he’d have to select a new squad leader for their group and that choice was pretty much narrowed down to three options.

Carma,

Kitami,

And Brooke,

None that Ui would first hand pick for being leader as none of them really possessed the leadership skills. He would have picked Michiko as she was already the vice but she was out of the game for now. This was something he’d have to sit down and think about and judge from the knowledge he already had.

_Oh Koharu…for once I could use your advice._

\--

“If anyone’s leader material, it’s me!” Brooke announced to her group in the training room at the CCG, “I mean I’ve got the power, I’ve got the strength-“ Though while trying to punch a bag she winced as her abdomen was still healing, but she made sure no one could see, “And I’m invincible! I lived through death!”  
“We all do…” Carma sighed as she and Rikai were practicing some quinque training in the open area – using wooden sticks of course, “It’s all part and partial I guess.”

“Well you never know Brooke…I could be squad leader!” Kitami heaved as she was running on one of the treadmills, this causing Yusa to struggle focusing on his weights. But Brooke could only chortle,

“YOU! Leader?! I don’t think so Bubblehead, not with your klutziness.”

“Hey! She could be!” Yusa defended, though with glances falling on him, quickly turning back as if he didn’t say anything,

“Well…who do you think Michiko?” Brooke asked as she confidently glanced into one of the mirrors, “Me, Bubblehead, or Carma?”  
Michiko, who was sitting on one of the benches working on some paper work she’d brought with her – actually it was maternity research – could only shrug.

“Who knows? It could be any of you, we’ll just have to wait until U- Koori decides.”

“What about you Shio?”

“Uhh…” luckily he didn’t have to answer as Ui himself had entered the fitness room just in time! Quickly, the four girls all stopped what they were doing and raced over to the special class and nearly knocked him over!

“Hey! A little space here!”

“Well just get on with it!” Brooke yelled, not listening to his warning and in the end was frankly ignored, “Hey!”

“Yes…I know you’re all exited but please keep it professional.” He sighed, trying to remind himself why he signed up for this.

For fun, he kept them waiting a few seconds, seeing that Brooke had already made the assumption.

“Alright alright, if you have trouble admitting you chose me I get it. I can be too much some times but I’m totally leadership material.”

“Actually, Akita-

“Brooke!” She interrupted, “Remember, we all agreed on first names – except for Kitami – from now on.” Indeed they did. Hairu was the one who first suggested the idea for them all to have a confident relationship and – dare he say it – a friendship with them that they could use first names. But that was besides the point.

“Anyways…I’ve selected Kitami.”

“ _Me?_! I was only- what?!” The blonde didn’t know what to say, she honestly didn’t think it would be her,

“ **HER?!** ” Brooke asked, face fallen, “WHY?!”

“Well…let’s face it none of you are leadership worthy.” His honesty was brutal sometimes but if he had to explain his point he’d do so in his way, “But when it comes down to what I’ve seen Kitami seems to have that social and instinctive side to her that would prove useful.”

“But she’s- she can’t even use a computer or a PHONE UNLESS IT HAS A CORD IN THE SIDE!”

The brunette was starting to get on Ui’s nerves; this was exactly why he didn’t pick her. Her mouth would always get them in trouble, not to mention she was too reckless. Brooke wouldn’t have acted on the side of group and wouldn’t look out for everyone’s best interest all the time; being brave was always a positive, but not in this case. Carma was also an instant denial. She was nice and all but from what he’d seen often hesitated too much when it came to proposing ideas. Kitami just happened to be a center ground, plus she was a positive individual who, with enough focus training, could put that cheerfulness into plans.

“ **Me?** ” Kitami asked again and Ui nodded,

“Yes, you…as long as you accept of course.”

 

“Well…” She really was unsure if she would be a good choice, but she never thought she’d be a leader in the first place.

Maybe she was so confident in that Koharu would always be around or that Michiko would even take her place if worse came to worse. But clearly the fate of the group was now in her hands, “I-“

“Umm…I think you’d be a good leader,” Yusa piped in shyly, “My opinion might not matter but…I think you’re-“

“Like a cheerleader!” Shio blurted as Yusa stepped on his foot, “Ow!”

He thinks she’d be a good leader…He wasn’t talkative to her but if Yusa was going to say something it was usually something thoughtful…and she always took those words to heart. Smiling at the younger Arima, Kitami gave her answer,

“I’ll do it!” she nodded, “I’ll…um. I might not be able to live up to Koharu’s legacy but I’ll do my best!”

 

 **Legacy?**  
Did his sister leave that big of an impact on them? Wow.

“Alright, congratulations Investigator Kitami- um, just Kitami. I’ll send in your answer to the head.”

“Alright! Thank you Koori!” She bowed.

These girls…were something else alright.

Once he left and they were all on their own again, Kitami’s squad mates and the boys congratulated her on her new role, even stubborn Brooke though she struggled,

“I still think I should have been leader but if that’s what the bowl cut wants then I guess I’ll have to go along with it. If he wasn’t Koharu’s brother I would have ripped him another for choosing a bubblehead like you! Don’t mess up! Got it?!”

“Yup! Umm…Nope. Michiko…How do I lead the squad exactly?”

\--

“She smiled at you.” Rikai said later that night in their room at Hirako’s. Their small bedroom contained a bunk bed and a single to which Yusa took. He was laying in it looking through a book…though he was actually using it to hide his own smile.

“ _’I think you’d be a good leader, Kitami!’_ ” Shio mocked as he swung his feet back and fourth from the top bunk, but Yusa could only grumble and threw a pillow at him, to which his friend dodged, “ _’Now thank me and give me a kiss-!’_ Hey, you were thinking it then, weren’t you?!”

“Well- No!” he sighed turning his gaze away and flumping under the blankets, “I still wish that you didn’t say ‘cheerleader’…that might have offended her!”

“Nah and even if it did she wouldn’t think twice about it. That’s just who she is!” Shio sighed, tossing the pillow back Yusa. But on a more serious note…was it bad that he had a crush on her with an age gap like theirs? He and Kitami had a five-year age gap…that seemed pretty large up to scale.

“Do you think…it’s bad that she’s older then me?”

“Not really…” Rikai answered turning out the light,

“Yeah it’s not that bad, just look at Ui and Hairu! They’ve got an eight-year difference and they’re in love. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” Shio mused as he slipped under his blanket, “Just wait till you get older…she’ll be all over you!”

“But…by that point I’ll…we’ll…” a secret long kept by the garden children was their fast aging…by the point Yusa reached 20, his years would be slipping under him and then even if he and Kitami did get together…it wouldn’t be for long.

Yusa Arima had always assumed that love wouldn’t be in his schedule…but once he got to see – to know that piece of sunshine in his life, he already knew he was out of luck to go back. She was his guide to an unknown world that he so badly wanted to experience, that of a normal life.

Then in the darkness of their room, the giggles coming from the top bunk made Yusa want to push Shio off the bed,

“Yusa and Kitami sitting in a tree-“

“Shut Up!”

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

“Should I push him off?” Asked Rikai grumbly, “Or put a pillow over his face?”

“First comes love, then comes marriage-!”

“SHUT UP!”

“Then comes th-“

Suddenly the door of their room creaked open and Hirako just stared with a sleepy expression,

“You kids can decide when you want to go to sleep but…keep it down.” The man said with a sigh and Shio had to cover his mouth from trying not to laugh. Yusa just prayed he didn’t hear what they were talking about.

\--

With that month pressing on, Kitami was soon given an eye opener to the role of being the leader of her squad and things would never be the same in her perspective. She was the one in charge when Ui wasn’t around to help and she was the one commanding in battle. It was hard and she respected their former leader that much more for what she was capable of and in such a more vivid context.

_In time…she’d improve._

But now there was something new for the Quinx’s, new people to meet, new people to teach, and new people to befriend.

In the CCG’s main headquarters, both groups were to meet in the main office to be introduced to their new additions. Arima, Akira, and Ui also attended as it protocolled.

“Brooke…why do you look so angry?” Carma whispered to her friend that had been wearing a sour face the entire morning, “Are you on your-“

“No!”

“Keep it down!” Michiko whispered to them, but really their talking wasn’t what was going to catch the newbie’s attention. Michiko’s stomach had certainly started to show a bit more now that she was nearing her 3rd month; she could no longer even comfortably wear her usual attire and was sticking to loose fitting blouses.

“I just…I just don’t like new people.”

“What do you mean?” Kitami also chimed in, curiosity getting the better of her,

“I don’t know…I liked our squad the way it is, the way it was! When it was just us…the five of us.”

“But that’s life, people come in and out just like that all the time.” Carma said, “Nothing stays the same forever, Brooke. Like a flower! It can bloom every spring but its petals will never bloom in the exact same way as the previous year. But it’s still pretty!” Carma’s words were right, but Brooke hated this kind of change and everything was changing around her so fast she could hardly keep up anymore…she wanted to go back in time to those days where it was only them, no boyfriends or babies or deaths.

Besides these people were probably going to stiff and snobbish.

But soon, the doors opened and 5 new souls walked in accompanied by Yoshitoki himself! Everyone stood up straight and formal, waiting to see who would be going home with him or her.

But one of the new recruits looked strangely familiar to Brooke…his pink hair was a total give away.

“Oh no…”

Three new members were added to the original Quinx’s,

Ching-Li Hsaio,

Shinsanpei Aura,

And, Touma Higemaru…

She wanted to hide so badly! Maybe he wouldn’t remember her! But he must have suspected something because he managed to glance at Brooke in a funny way, enough for Michiko to see as well.

“You know him?”

“Don’t. Ask.”

But luckily for Brooke he wouldn’t be joining their squad; instead they were to receive two females that had apparently come from the garden.

“You’re the beta-quinx, right? I’m Shoko Souzu Rank 3!” she was a pretty thing with freckles and dark blonde hair with her roots starting to darken and her tips were probably dyed with a cheep can of blue hair spray. _She was a Souzu?!_

“And I’m Yoko Souzu, also rank 3!” The woman beside her said lowering her head. She on the other hand had chocolate brown hair and was much shorter then the other one. How the heck were they Souzu’s?!  
“We’re sister’s if you couldn’t tell.” Shoko nudged Yoko with a grin,

“Yoko and Shoko! How cute, but I can kinda see the relation.” Kitami said as she went up to greet them, a little shocked when Shoko insisted on a handshake,

“You’re the squad leader?”

“Yup, that’s me! Marie Kitami but please use my last name…I’m not fond of my given name.”

“Then we look foreword to working with you Kitami-senpai!”

“Senpai?!” She’d never been called that before, wow! “Well, let’s get you to meet the rest of our squad.”

After the meeting, they took the two girls back to the Villa to allow them to get settled into their rooms. No one dared touched Koharu’s but they did have a couple of small extra rooms for use!

“Sorry they’re a little dull,” Michiko said, “But you’re welcome to decorate as much as you like!”

“Whoa really?!” Shoko looked totally excited to hear that, “anything we want?!”

“Anything!”

“Well looks like I’ll be taking a trip to the stores tomorrow, but first-“ Suddenly as she tossed her suit case on the bed, she started to strip off her pants and formal shirt and tossed them to the side as if no one was standing there! Michiko was horrified by this action, mostly for tossing the expensive clothes like they were trash! “I need to get my sweat pants on…I hate wearing tight things like those.” Indeed she lived to her words as Shoko slipped on a baggy pair of sweat pants, put on an old shirt and a baseball cap – backwards! It was like a completely different person was standing in the room! And for a moment, Brooke stared in awe and was nearly brought to tears,

“This person gets me…I take everything back I assumed about you!”

“Huh?!”

“What about you Yoko? Is your bedroom alright?” Michiko turned away from the other two and went over to check on Kitami and Carma as they introduced the other young woman to her quarters, she seemed to be happy with it as well; admitting it needed a new coat of paint and some colour. It seemed like Kitami already had her wrapped around her finger as she had a bow on the side of her head.

“Are we clear?” Hairu asked as she and Ui were hesitantly making their way up the stairs to see how the move-in was going, “Oh- who are…Oh you’re Shoko! Sorry I didn’t recognize you.”

“I get that a lot.”

“Well as long as everything’s okay…we can go now, right?”

“Koori! Let’s stay a while and get to know them. We’ll be working with them too after all.”

He groaned but he always fell to her every command. Pretty soon, the Suzuya Squad had arrived as well to meet the new recruits to the beta-squad. Though Mizurou was really only there to check on his fiancée who seemed as pleased to see him as she threw her arms over him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Hairu, let’s go prepare some drinks to celebrate!” Michiko cheered much to Ui and Mizurou’s shock; “Don’t worry boys…Virgin for us two.”

And from even just one evening, it was clear to see that the sister’s personalities were fitting in well with everyone. Shoko acted as if she was shy and a loner but was actually quite spunky and social; she also had a great sense of humor and was even able to crack a smile from Keijin. She got 500 yen for that.

Yoko was also a talkative young lady whom, much like Kitami, seemed to have a positive attitude…but lectured her on her sweatpants throughout the night.

“So Brooke…how do you feel about these two?” Kitami asked when they had a moment alone. As the brunette sipped on her beer she had to admit the truth.  
“You know…they’re kinda cool. I think I could try and get used to them.”


	19. Whatever You Do! Don't!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a chapter all about Brooke and her past!  
> You know, I never really thought about her character too much until I was writing this before I realized that Brooke is actually a walking-talking paradox for a lot of the things she does and says. 
> 
> (and no she is not tsundere in this chapter, she's really just mean-)

_What defines a hero?_

Strength or wisdom? Owning a cape or an entourage? Knowing your enemy and your own weaknesses? Modesty was certainly never something Brooke Akita considered to have once she was admitted into the Academy. She saw herself as invincible, quick in mind and body, and of course able to face any of her problems head on. But at the start, being a hero was never something that crossed her mind until an unlikely figure came into her life to remind her of what it means to be not just a hero is, but to set an example.

Brooke Akita, whom grew up in Hokkaido, never experienced the dangers of ghouls firsthand and yet she was in danger every day of her life. As a child with her two sisters, she would always be playing outside and causing their own arrays of mischief around the hills and even the streams that flowed by their home. Shauna, whom often wasn’t much for playing games with the twins, would send them on intense scavenger hunts to fetch things that kept them entertained for hours, but the places that the twins had to go to retrieve those items nearly killed them 40 times over…often not from the terrain it’s self.

“Hey Brenda, what’s that?”

“Huh?” When her twin was distracted, Brooke would often pick up small rocks and toss them at her sister in a playful manner, “Ouch! Hey get back here!” Rock fights – the sister’s favorite game that most days were lucky to come back with both eyes in contact.

Brooke had also found a great interest in river searching as when the water was lower she’d go in and fetch loose coin to earn some yen for herself, a clever way for her to find fast pocket money. When the water was high, she’d go swimming and even jumped off the bridges into the deeper sections taking to it like a fish! Or as she often pretend to be – _an otter._

She might as well been considered a scavenger herself.

Responsibility was nothing she ever really seriously, school was a breeze and she had the sun and her siblings to amuse her.

But once the family received a new member, Brooke still didn’t seem to care about responsibility to even her own belongings. She didn’t have a close connection with any of her personal treasures, but she did have one possession she did have a fancy for more then anything in the world. A stuffed bunny that her mother had personally made just for her when she was only a babe and she’d held onto it ever since, taking great pride in preserving it…more or less.

Oscar, she named it, sat proudly on her bed like a guardian angel. No one was allowed to touch it and even her rowdy family respected that personal boundary…all but one.

Erica, her baby sister seemed to have taken on the mischievous, boundless personality her older sisters possessed and no matter how much they tried to keep things out of reach she always found a way to get into things.

One day, when Brooke was finishing up an assignment at her desk in her room, she didn’t even notice that Erica had toddled into the room and behind her back, didn’t see that she’d managed to get ahold of the bunny; accidently popping it’s button eye off and undoing it’s tie. The brunette would have never guessed until she heard Erica sneeze. Flipping herself around, Brooke nearly had a fit!

“Erica! What are you- don’t touch him!” Leaping off her chair, the brunette landed right in front of her younger sister and tried to yank it out of her grasp, “Let go of Oscar!” but the toddler had a firm grip and was fighting to keep hold by pulling on it’s ears! In a back-and-fourth game of tug of war, it was too late by the time Erica finally released and the ears tor right off in an instant leaving the sisters to stare at the parts of the stuffed animal they each had.

No one had ever seen Brooke cry in such a way before; no one had ever seen Brooke cry at all! She could break her ankle on a picnic table and still joke about it…but her Oscar; was her one pride and glory.

 

“Well, it could have been worse.” Kana said as one of her middle daughters handed her the toy, “It’s an easy fix.”

Brooke sniffled,

“No…Now he’ll have weird stitches in his ears and-“

“Don’t whine-“

“But mom! Erica…she!”

“She’s little, Brooke. She didn’t know any better.”

“Doesn’t matter!” She yelled, tossing the bunny’s ears on the floor and pointing at a more or so frightened Erica who stood behind her mother, “She could have ripped anything else…my underwear, my socks, my homework, but she had to go after my Oscar! She’s such a nuisance…I wish she was never born.”

“Brooke!” 

From even those words even little Erica must have understood as she started to cry but through her own anger her older sister couldn’t care. She just stomped up to her room and slammed the door leaving her mother in a frenzy of what to do.

“Oh boy…”

 

Later that night, Kana stayed by her sewing machine and stared at the doll and wondered what to make of this mess. Again, she could easily sew back on the missing pieces…but Brooke would most likely still push it away…It wasn’t until she stared at some of the pictures on the wall that she was inspired…maybe it wouldn’t have to be a bunny any more…maybe Kana could create something from this mangled disaster for the better.

“I’ll be earning my Sake tomorrow!” She said to herself as she got to work sewing the two earpieces together to form a tail.

To say the least, Brooke had a sleepless night without her usual nighttime companion. At this point she shouldn’t need to sleep with a comfort object but she’d grown so attached to it she couldn’t get over it that fast – or at all. Once she heard the door to her room creek open she put a pillow over her head. 

“Go away!”

“That’s not nice Brooke!” Kana said

Lifting her bedhead out from underneath, the brunette’s bloodshot eyes glanced over to see that her mother and younger sister had brought a surprise package with a balloon attached to it.

“It’s not my birthday…”

“Here!” Erica said as she shoved the wrapped box at the end of her sister’s bed, “Present!”

“I see…” She sighed, leaning forward to unwrap it. Whatever it was…they were wasting- OH! “What’s that?!”

“Don’t you recognize him?” Kana asked, folding her arms over your chest, “You’ve only slept with it your whole life.”

“Now way…that’s Oscar?!” Lifting the stuffed animal out from it’s box, Brooke admired her new position that was no longer a bunny but rather an otter; her favorite animal. His eyes were sewn back, his bow was fixed…but his ears had turned into stubs and his old ears must have been used to make the new, longer tail, “Wow he looks…good.”

“Do you like him?” Erica asked,

“Yeah. I do. Thanks...Umm, sorry for yelling yesterday.” Brooke had a hard time with her manners, but she was grateful for her mother going out of her way to cheer her up…and seeing that this was her sister’s way of apologizing she also felt the guilt for getting upset with her too. Patting the top of the small child’s head, Brooke gave a half smile, “Sorry to you too, shrimp.”

Erica was purely the image of innocence, acting without knowing on what she was doing but never originally having bad intensions…Brooke had to keep it that way. The rest of her sister’s were already corrupt…but she could at least save one.

\--

As years past by what felt like the blink of an eye, Brooke’s attitude had not changed since and in her first year of high school, Brooke left Hokkaido to go to Tokyo to spread her wings a little bit and see what city life was all about. She’d never been to Tokyo before then and least to say, spunky Brooke wasn’t so spunky when she found herself lost in between train stations that took her between her dorm and her school.

Fitting in was another problem as well, Brooke was so used to being rough and outside most of the time that getting along with the city kids wasn’t as easy as she thought. While she was outgoing enough none of the girls really wanted to hang out with her; her harsh language and name calling habits certainly didn’t help. But the brunette was so over confident with herself that in the end, she ended up pushing others away. Coming from a community where everyone knew everyone else into a giant, mingled, school was far from home indeed.

“Are you sure you want to work on the project alone?” Her literature teacher asked, “It was made to be split by a group of four students.”  
“Yeah I can do it!” She said folding her arms with a confident grin, “I’ll stay home this weekend to get it done. Just trust me here Teach!”

He looked doubtful in her statement but regrettably gave her permission to work alone. Again.

From behind her, Brooke could hear the other student’s all whispering about her, she didn’t know what exactly they were saying but she was certain they were mocking her. 

It didn’t matter; she was doing just fine on her own. Though she was lonely at times, she was able to get over it.

The next week, when all the groups had to go up to present their projects, Brooke easily walked up to the front of the room with her shoulders back and her face foreword. 

_She could do this._

_She was fine._

Pulling out her paper with her four-part story printed on it, she took a deep breath and the first thing she read off the paper was less then impressive,

“It was dark because it was night-!” and she didn’t even have the chance to continue before the class started to gradually break out in laughter at her word choice. At first, Brooke didn’t understand why then looking back and re-reading it to herself, she realized just how bad it sounded…

_Whoops._

“I guess I should’ve proofread this.” She said, trying to improvise, “My bad guys…well this might be the rest of my presentation. Rough Monday.”

In the end, her jokes and off topic comments throughout her presentation ended up costing her as her grade wasn’t at all what she was hoping it would be.

She spent all weekend writing this by herself!

By the end she was too tired to look over her mistakes…maybe a group would have been a better option. But no one wanted to work with her, that was the problem. Maybe this Tokyo-living wasn’t for her and she should just go back home where nothing changed and where everyone understood her.

_Yeah.  
That’s what she’d do._

Later that week during lunch, Brooke decided to head up to the roof and sit outside for a little while. She figured that she could save a buck by skipping lunch today…though she was hungry and was tempted to get something from the cafeteria. Letting out a sigh, she leaned against the railing, plugged in her ear buds and listened to her music to try and escape reality for a little while. At least she would be outside for gym today and that was good!

But she was taken out of her zone once she spotted someone coming through the roof’s door and approaching her, 

“Oh they were right! Hey, Akita!” Touma Higemaru…the guy that sat behind her in homeroom. What a dork with that bright pink hair of his. But really she didn’t know that much about him, only that he came from a wealthy family and from what she’d seen had quite a few friendships here. But why was he looking for her exactly?

“That’s me…and you’re Higemaru.” She said, keeping her ear buds in but lowering the volume a little. Once he came over to her, she turned away to look through the tall gate; he did the same thing.

“Do you want something?!” Brooke asked in an annoyed tone, “like…can you go away?”  
“Well now it makes sense…” He mumbled but she heard him crystal clear,

“What does?”

“Why you’re always alone. Do you not like people?”

“Nah, people are fine. They just don’t like me. Whatever though…I’m probably not staying here anyways.” She was meaning to say that in a rude way, she wanted him out of her bubble, but he stayed right where he was and took a seat on the ground.

“Neither am I!”

“Why? You seem to be fine…you have friends.” Seeing that he wasn’t going to leave and she didn’t want to run into anyone else, she took a seat next to him – a little farther away.

“Sure but I don’t want to get a regular career you know. These classes are dull.”

“We agree on something…what are you doing then or what do you want to do?”

Hige smiled,

“I want to be an investigator!”

“What? Like Sherlock homes?” He looked at her as if she had three heads but she thought that teasing him like this could be fun. She knew what he meant though, “A…Police investigator?”

“How do you not know what I’m talking about?!”

She shrugged, shuffling through her phone for a new playlist. Grunting, Hige stood up again and requested that she come take a look at the city again, he pointed towards a large building that stood among many of the skyscrapers, one with a logo that said ‘ _CCG’._

“You see that? That’s the Commission of Counter Ghoul, I want to be a ghoul investigator!”

Brooke nearly burst out laughing and had to cover her mouth to keep others from down below from hearing her.

“You’re kidding me right? There’s no such thing as ghouls!”

“Yes there is!” he yelled back, “Ghouls are the most dangerous things to have walked the planet – except for dinosaurs – they walk among us and eat human flesh! They’re all over the news how have you not heard of them?!”

“You need to chill out bubblegum boy…I’m joking with you. I know what ghouls are I just think it’s hilariously stupid that you want to be someone who-“

“Gets killed easily?”

“Yeah. Why would you want to waist your life like that?” she continued to laugh by herself, Hige didn’t probably even know what to say and the worst thing was she didn’t even care if she hurt his feelings. He was the one who was stupid enough to go into something like that.

Putting his hands in his pockets he let out a sigh,

“You want to know why I want to do that? My entire family has given themselves for the rights and all things honorable to protect others…police, firemen, you name it. To me I don’t see anything ‘hilarious’ or ‘foolish’ about wanting to protect humanity…I’m just wanting to go at a different angle.”

“You want to be a hero or something?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that… My parents just insisted that I try one year here in case I find something else…But I’m not changing my mind.” He was about to walk away, but not before letting out a grin and looking back at her, “After this year is over, I’m signing up for the academy! I’m going to be sure I get there, I’m going to become someone to be admired so that people don’t have to be scared,” Confidently and with pride putting his fist to the air, “I’m going to be my own hero. That’s my goal!”

Again, Brooke couldn’t help but laugh and roll her eyes.

“Alright…good luck with that!”

“Don’t you have a purpose or a goal in life Akita? What were you planning to do?”

“Why are you asking me that?!” in all honesty…she had no idea. What was she going to do after high school? Brooke didn’t even have a goal of what university or collage she wanted to attend…never mind career choice.

“Well I’m just saying I don’t think it matters what you do in life as long as you feel good about, am I right? Want to be a couch potato? A loner? Fine.”  
“I don’t…want to be either. Higemaru, do you always speak to girls on the roof this way? With disrespect?”

He shrugged,

“Don’t know…But you’re the one speaking with disrespect. I guess you just caught my interest after that little story of yours…’It was dark because it was night-‘” He just had to bring that up again! Brooke’s face went beat red and in anger marched over to him and stomped on his foot, “HEY!”

“Just because I suck at writing doesn’t mean you can speak-“ Then it finally came to her realization, Higemaru was the first person since first coming here who approached her willingly and had talked to her even after her insults. He wanted to be an investigator and was hanging around her…he was a strange one, “Weirdo…”

“So are you.” He said back at her, taking a seat back against the fence to finally have something to eat. He had a nicely prepared bento filled with a huge helping of rice and all kinds of good-looking veggies and meat. The brunette looked away as so not to drool.

“Geezz why does my mom pack so much?” he groaned, “I’m never able to finish it all…hey Akita, have you eaten yet?”

“No.”

“Then would you take some of this off my hands…better then wasting it right?”

“Eat your food?! I’d rather starve!” Then with a quick turn of her head she was about to walk away if not for her obnoxious, growling stomach. Well this just made her statement invalid, “Would you…please ignore what I just said?”

“No but the offer is still on the table –“ And quick as a whip, Brooke grabbed his container and chopsticks and started to vigorously eat, forgetting to chew most of the time, “Hey leave some for me!”

 

\--

 

That wasn’t their last meeting either. No matter where she went he always seemed to find her, much like a bad dream.

“Don’t you have other friends?” She asked another day as she sat on a bench in the school’s courtyard, “Like…any?”

“I do! But I’m not going anywhere till you decide on what you want to do!”

“Why? You’re a stalker?”

“NO! It just…bothered me…I mean, you walk around like a lost soul.” She could see his cheeks start to tint and she wanted to take the opportunity to run away, but he’d find her again.

“I was okay with being alone. I have my sister’s at home…they’re all the company I need!”

“You live in Tokyo?”

“No, Hokkaido!”

“That’s a long way…I’m guessing that company is rare?”

“None of your business.”

Higemaru was really annoying to her, she’ll admit he was resistant to keep coming back to her like this but she still didn’t understand why this was his idea of good company. He spoke again,

“Anyways Akita…have you put in any thought into what you’re going to do?”

“Um…not really,” She admitted, leaning back in the bench, “What made you decide to be an investigator anyways?”

“Family influence.”

Figures.

“Well…my older sister wants to be a chef, my twin is as helpless as me and my little sis…is too young.”

Higemaru glanced at her in her sluggish position and also leaned back to stare up at the blue sky, a few clouds drifting by.

“Hey you know. You could become an investigator like me.”

“What?!”

“Well…You’re really athletic, you don’t put up with nonsense, and you just have that aggression.”

“Great so now you’re watching me in gym…”

“NOT LIKE THAT!” again, his face went bright pink, even rivalling his own hair, “W-What I mean is…you have the potential and…don’t you want to be a hero? Don’t you have a reason or something you want to protect?”

_Something to protect?  
Being a hero?_

Again with this nonsense…but for once she listened to him and generously thought on his words, chewing on them like gum. Ghouls…they could be anywhere, they could be in their school right now and they’d never know. Murders. To fight…it would be for Erica without a doubt, innocent, troubled child. If Brooke wasn’t home her sister’s safety might have been assured by the rest of their family…but she would never know for sure. But being an investigator? That was something to not take lightly…but, it was one thing to be here away doing nothing, if she was doing something maybe she protect them from here.

That would be an adjustment…

“You think I’ve got it?”

“Yeah!”

“Will it be hard?”

“Probably. Lot’s of physical and mental training. But if it’s going to save lives it’s all worth it right?”

Preservation. Never knowing fear. That childish aspect.

“I’ll think about it…”

“Hey that’s a start! We should go check out the-“

“Baby steps Higemaru…”

“Right…”

“You know you look like idiot with you rosy cheeks right?” He wasn’t blushing this time, but her comment made him do so,

“Hey, we should use first names!” He said boldly, or maybe desperately, “since were friends and all.”

“Friends? I don’t think so maybe…close acquaintances. But if you want to use my name I don’t care, but I’m not using yours.”

She was savage all right, and she was probably putting his self esteem to the test everyday. He had the right to leave and she wondered everyday if she’d see him come back.  
He was always there, just like a shadow.

\--

The next school year, both Higemaru and Brooke are entering the CCG’s Academy and to Brooke’s surprise, it was better then she first thought it would be. While regular courses were run, physical training, CCG protocol and ghoul biology was top priority. Despite being able to keep up with the athletic aspect of things, she struggled in learning the basics of ‘the ghoul’ and understanding the Countermeasures act. Most of it was basic information, things that she’d have to keep in mind when in battle, and yet she couldn’t find it in herself to truly put her soul into it.

“We probably won’t even need to remember this anyways.” The brunette complained to Hige, “I mean…It’s common sense. For the most part.”

“Yeah but remember they will be asking you to state certain sections during your exams,” He reminded, “You know I could always help you study if you want…or at least help with some flash cards or something.”

“Nah I’ll do it by myself.”

“But Brooke-“

“I’ll be fine…” She then looked back to her previous year at the regular school. By doing things by herself she ended up paying the price by getting low to satisfactory grades; she acted like it never bothered her but in truth, she hated failing. Gritting her teeth, she decided to go outside for a run to get rid of her frustration; she needed some time to just have a moment with her thoughts.

But even on the track, the pink haired boy always found her and kept pestering her into studying together.

“You let me train with you,” He called as he started to catch up to her, “Why won’t you let me study with you?”

“Because!” I don’t want you to confess to me! “Just because!”

“That’s not a reason!”

“Sure it is! I just made it mine!” She tried to speed up a bit, racing farther down the track and far past him only to loose her glasses as they slipped off her nose from the sweat pouring down her face. Brooke was blind without them, but she continued to keep running! Hige on the other hand stopped to retrieve them and called out,

“BROOKE STOP!”

“Don’t tell me what to-!” But like a charging bull, the brunette raced right into another person who was standing on the sideline sending them both tumbling to the hard ground! “Ugh!”  
With Brooke’s poor vision she couldn’t even see the person she was now sitting on…never mind knocked over. She tried to squint and she could faintly see a girl with dark hair and an angered expression.

“Hey get off me!” The girl shouted shoving Brooke to the side and stood up, “What do you think you were doing?!”

“Ui-chan!” Another voice approached, a blonde blur, “Are you alright?! Who’s that?”

“I’m fine Kitami. This idiot’s just crazy!”

“I’m blind!” Brooke shouted, “I lost my glasses!”

“Oh no! Where?!” The blonde asked her, “Want any help?”

“NO. I can find them on my own.” Brooke barked starting to dig around the grass as if they were there…though clearly not.

“Yeah well good luck with that, maybe try contacts..” Ui-chan said turning to her friend, “Let’s catch a shower Kitami…”

“Okay!” 

Brooke blankly watched the two blurs leave and for the first time in a while she felt severely embarrassed.

I’m not wearing contacts! Those are scary!

Finally she could see the world a little clearer as someone placed her glasses over her face and turning back saw Higemaru shaking his head.

“Loose something?”

“Shut. Up.” Getting up and dusting off her knees, a flustered Brooke stomped off the track to, once again, be followed and pestered into studying. He really wouldn’t stop till she gave in would he? “Fine…let’s go the library. But you better get a shower first!”

\--

Brooke will never admit it, but the only reason she’d passed that year – and with a good grade – was because of Hige’s support and assistance. Brooke might have been mean to him but he pushed it aside and even laughed! Sometimes he would be just as mean back. But once it came time to choose their paths down the investigator career. But during her second year the school was starting to announce the application for a new surgery for those planning on joining the CCG…to have ghoul DNA implanted and give them a new power.

Test subjects.

The payment was supposed to be good and it would mean an immediate integration into the investigator career!

No more classes! You could get in with poor grades too if you wanted!  
For Brooke it was an easy choice and she jumped onto the opportunity to maybe be one of the 10 selected. Hige also signed up – even helping her with her own application. And the wait was painful for both of them. One of them could get in, neither, or both.

She can still remember his face when she was accepted in and not him. He had the better grades…but she was physically strong.

The last time she saw him was the day the results were handed out and she never bothered to say goodbye.   
If not for him for asking her to join the CCG, she wouldn’t have met Koharu, Kitami, Carma, or Michiko. Not Saiko, Shirazu, Haise, Mutsuki, Juuzuo, Urie…all of them. She owed him that. He saved her from staying a lost soul. He showed her that its important to fight for something, to have friends and use teamwork…Erica would always be safe on her watch. She’d be a forever child.

She thought about him, sometimes, but not everyday. Mostly at ceremonies and work events. All the good times.

Now that he was here and made it through the second batch, there was no chance of avoiding him forever and she’d have to face him again.

\--

“A wedding invite huh?” Brooke asked as Michiko handed out some lovely invitations to her squad in their office, “You could have just told us you know.”

“I could’ve. But it’s more fun this way isn’t it? It makes it feel that much more real.” Her expectant friend said, carefully rubbing her thumb over one of the cards in her hands.

If change must happen so be it…She looks happy enough.

“Ooohh this is going to be exciting! I’m happy for you, have you picked your dress yet?!” Kitami asked,  
“No. I was hoping you guys would come with me to help pick…I’ll need more opinions on a dress that looks good with a bump. I invited Saiko too.”

“Aww I’d love to go!” Kitami exclaimed,

“Shoko and Yoko, you can come too If you want.” Their two newer squad members hadn’t been there long but they seemed honored to be able to participate. Carma also accepted the offer. Brooke agreed to go along though she was pretty sure she’d just fall asleep in a chair. Fashion and dresses…weren’t her thing.

Later, on her way to the bathroom, she ran into the man she’d been expecting to run into after all this time.   
Higemaru had certainly gotten stronger just from his appearance. He smirked when he spotted her.

“We meet again, bubblegum boy. Stalking me again?”

“I guess so. You seem to have gotten stronger too, Ms Rank 1.”

“You didn’t think I’d be in the bottom forever?!”

“No.”

“Well I heard from a little birdy that you’re all talk and no show, Hige. Pick up the slack.”

“Gah?!”

Their conversation was pointless. But it was hard to speak about anything after so long.

“Hey, want to maybe get sushi later? I heard about a good spot around the area and wanted to check it out.”

“You’re not asking me out I hope.”

“No…Just wanted to catch up.”

“I’m just kidding,” she chortled, “I won’t turn down free food.”

“Same old Brooke.” He sighed putting his hand to his head, “Oh well if I put up with your bullying then I can do it now.”

“We’ll see about that. Once I see you in a fight I’ll pick you away bit by bit.”

“Yep…Same old Brooke.”

Old friends? Maybe? Depending on who’s watching them. But as much as Brooke was afraid to get to see him again, being able to hang out with him again that night was kind of fun. Talking about the past and catching up was interesting to say the least. He still blushed like a fool though. And to think she always thought Mizurou looked like an idiot when he was flustered around Michiko…he didn’t compare to Higemaru.

“OH and guess what! I saw my sister’s a little while again…safe and sound. **All thanks to me**.”


	20. Old Flames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more drama ;-; 
> 
> (Also I was so shook to see that Yusa's height was pretty close to Marie's- this whole time I thought he was short-) 
> 
> Enjoy and thanks for reading! ~ <3333

_“One more time Koori!”_

_“Again…?”_

_“Please! Just one more!”_

_“Alright, just once then we should head back…it’s getting late.”_

_She still vividly remembers the feeling of ridding through the fields with her brother when she was small. Just them, the horse, and the wind; Koharu was always in an endless array of laughter from when she could no longer feel her butt after being in the saddle all afternoon. Their own little escape from home, their own piece of happiness that no one would be able to take from them. Not then, not ever._

_But why does those memoires come back now?  
Her brother was still in battle…right?_

The heavy lids of her eyes opened, struggling as if they’d been glued shut but just managing. At first she couldn’t see anything…then her vision slowly started to seep back and she was able to see where she was though she didn’t know exactly where. Koharu was in a hospital-like bed with cords and fluids attached to her and an oxygen mask over her face. Her muscles felt stiff as if she hadn’t moved in a long time

_What._

Koharu jolted up a little too fast, her head spinning as she yanked off the mask and tore out the cords and needles. She tried to leap to her feet off the bed but only fell to the ground as her legs fell under her from the shock and dizziness! Another thing she noticed was that she wasn’t wearing any clothes except for a large band that covered her breasts and her red panties.

“Hairu! Kitami! Carma!” She called out, but how would they hear her if she was in a jail cell? Where was she?! Last thing she remembered was jumping on top of Hairu then everything else was a blur; _unknown!_  
There was a striking pain in her shoulder that tingled all the way to her blade and when she glanced back she could faintly see a large scar that went around where her arm connected and even traced to part of her shoulder blade.  
That wasn’t there before…What was going on?!  
Again, Koharu tried calling out her friend’s names, this time slamming her hands against the sturdy door that had only a small window so she could see other cells.

“Quit your shouting…” a voice came from behind her, “It won’t help you…”

A clocked man sat in the corner of the cell with her, though even she could see his face she didn’t know who he was; how did she not see him there? Especially like this!? Trying to turn to block his view of her exposed skin, she started demanding questions, 

“Excuse me?! What’s going on?! Where are we?! How did I get here? Do you know about the rose operation?! and who are you?!”

“Calm down. I’m…Amon Koutarou...and you really want to know where you are?”

Amon Koutarou…she’d heard that name somewhere before…He was an investigator who died-

_Wait a minute._

“Amon Koutarou...but you’re- Wait am I dead?!” If he was supposed to be dead, did this mean she was dead too!? Did she fail? What was the outcome? How did-

“No…No you’re not.” He assured, standing up and leaning against the wall, “Apparently you were on the brink…Aogiri, they brought you here. From what I’ve overheard they took your body assuming you were dead…but you weren’t. You’ve been out for a while but they…”

“Who’s they?! What are you talking about?!” Koharu was so confused, she had every right to be so, but this non-sense was just messing with her, right? Some kind of joke!?

“Kanou.”

“Kanou..? The CCG’s been after him for years! Hey, If I could just get us of here then I can-“

“Good luck with that, you won’t be able to get out-“

“Says who?! If we work together we can escape together! I need to get back to the field, I need to finish the operation!”

Amon just looked at her as his eyes narrowed;

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about but…when they retrieved your body…that was _months ago_ …You’ve been in a coma since-“

“You’re lying! There’s no way I was out that long! It was only a few hours right!?”

“Well look who’s awake.” A voice came from outside the cell, another unknown figure standing just where she could see him, “About time. You live on, lucky you.” 

“Lucky me?!”

“You went through quite an ordeal…when Naki showed up with your body I was quiet shocked myself to find that you still had a pulse! But your arm took quite some time to repair there…” Kanou pointed towards it, “You wouldn’t believe how many levels I had to increase to allow it to reattach…though by that point you would have just been able to grow a new one. I must say, you’re the next best thing I’ve worked with since that last man. It was like Christmas.”

If he was being serious, that would explain the scarring but still…what did he mean by levels…Her RC Levels?!

“Wait! If I were able to reattach my arm, I’d have to have an extremely high level of RC to do that! I couldn’t do that just-“

Kanou didn’t say much; he just stood there and smiled, perhaps he found some type of amusement in this. Opening a small slot at the bottom of the door, he pushed a container through,

“Open it…and eat it.”

Hesitantly, Koharu knelt down and opened the lid to find a nicely prepared sandwich inside and yet she couldn’t get herself to eat it…The smell was repulsive. Oh dear god. Slowly, she pulled a piece to her mouth and as soon as it touched her tongue she gagged, hacking up bile. 

“It must be mouldy!” She shouted through her coughing fit! “That’s revolting!”

“Really? I made it this morning.” Kanou replied, pushing another container through the door, “try this.” 

Wiping her lower lip, her shaking hands opened the second one to find a bloody piece of raw flesh…human flesh. Koharu yelped and backed away from it, nearly tripping over Amon, who took hold of her shoulders to keep her still. The worst part was that it smelt better then the sandwich.

“Well go on.” Kanou ordered and Amon shot a glare,

“She’ll eat it when she’s ready.”

Koharu wanted to cry.

“I should trust your opinion…you’re honorable that way. Besides you’ve been watching over her for this long anyways.” Kanou sighed turning away, “Just remember she’ll go mad if she doesn’t eat.”

Once he was out of sight the raven-haired girl fell to the floor with her face in her hands as she cried. She cried and she cried, she wanted to get out of here, she wanted to go back to the Villa, to see her friends and be in the safety under her brother’s critical watch. But clearly that wasn’t going to happen.  
If she didn’t die before, she would now, her insides would disown her and her soul would be sent to hell.  
She could feel her ghoulish side start to take over, that blood boiling feeling of emotions and power. But even Amon looked shocked when she gazed up at him again,

“Oh my god…Koharu, your eyes.”

“What about them…? One always changes!”

“No! It’s both of them!”

Taking a glance at her reflection on a metallic piece of the bed, from one of the tiny bars she could see that both of her eyes had turned ghoulish! Not just one…  
Just how far did Kanou push her DNA…her Levels?!

\--

Ryoichi was certainly in for a surprise when he spotted the investigators that had chased him down over a year ago all appeared in the Café. They’d been coming here more often these days and perhaps over all this time they’d forgotten about him…though that would never be the same case for him. He’d always remember them and what they did…a grudge. But as the chilly months started to reign closer and the thought of another Christmas party started to take fold in his mind he couldn’t really feel as angered as he should’ve when serving them.  
Where was Koharu though? 

“I have a coffee with a drop of cream?” The red headed waiter said as he carried over a large tray filled with hot beverages,

“That’s mine!” Kitami said raising her hand in the air,

“A latte with a vanilla shot,”

“Right here!” Brooke tapped the table,

“A hot chocolate and a coffee with sugar and cream,”

“That’s us!” Yoko said excitedly as her sweet drink was placed in front of her, she was probably more excited about the whipped cream on top,

“Coffee…Decaf?”

“That would be mine, thank you.” A very pregnant Michiko said, glancing at the drink a little sadly; she was probably looking foreword to being able to drink it caffeinated again.

“And this must be yours,” Ryoichi placed a black coffee in front of Carma who took the drink gratefully,

“Yes, Thank you.” Carma said, carefully taking the drink as Brooke eyed her,

“Carma I had no idea you liked a strong coffee.”

“There’s lots of things you don’t know about me.” She said blowing on some of the steam.  
The beta-squad had all just arrived back from dress shopping with Michiko, as her wedding was to be taking place that weekend. Originally, Michiko wanted to have the wedding earlier but with how the way things have been going with training and preparing for another raid in December, one that Mizurou and her squad was to be apart of, time seemed to slip away. The dress was also last minute because of her constantly changing stomach that was now far enough that she couldn’t even tie her own shoes. She was still in a better way then Hairu who was ready to burst at any moment!  
Saiko was supposed to come along today as well but hadn’t woken up early enough to join them.

“So can I ask this,” Shoko spoke into her cup making an echo, “Am I the only solo going to the wedding or do you all have dates? I want to know so I don’t have to dance by myself…or so I can go with the group.”

Both Kitami and Brooke broke out into an fit of laughter as Carma and Yoko both smiled awkwardly at the question,

“Shoko, do you really think I have a date I mean really!?” the brunette sighed, whipping a tear from her eye,

“Yeah, I’m not going with anyone either! I have no admirers anyways!” Kitami’s obliviousness was so innocent and stupid that it made everyone at the table groan,

“You’re going to break poor Yusa’s heart…” Michiko sighed,

“Don’t worry Kitami-senpai, I’m still free.” added Yoko, her cheeks a light blush,

“Huh?”

“Anyways, I don’t think any of us will have dates so guess what; we can all be each other’s dates! I’ll take Carma as my plus one and you two can go together,” Brooke pointed at the Souzu sisters,

“Hey, what about me?!” Kitami asked puffing out her cheeks,

“You’ll be fine.”

This wedding talk sure was exciting for everyone, it didn’t involve anything with ghouls and it was casual - a normal thing - something that people did everyday around the world. Still it was so surreal for Michiko that it was happening to her…all this commotion over her special day was truly exhilarating. But…In a way she didn’t feel quite right about doing this without Koharu…But she was dead so she shouldn’t feel bad about it.

Suddenly, the little bell above the café door jingled and a tall, broad man walked inside carrying a large crate, assumingly full of coffee beans,  
This caught Carma’s attention as she nearly choked on her coffee at the sight of him.

“Hey Ryo, where’s Touka?”

“In the back.”

“Okay, the order just arrived, can you let her know so I can bring them in?”

“Sure thing!”

_That man._

Why does that man look so familiar? Carma couldn’t even control her flushing face when she watched him lift the crate behind the counter. He didn’t even seem to notice them though.

_NO. I’ve only got eyes for Masaya._

“Staring into space there?” Shoko asked waving her hand in front of a wide-eyed Carma. 

“It’s okay, I daydream all the time!” said the ditzy blonde, fixing a hair bow, “so relaxing!”

“That's unsetting to hear that from our leader…” Michiko sighed. Though the look that Carma was giving wasn’t one of those dreamy looks that Kitami sometimes gave off. No, this one was more that of wonderment or maybe analyzing. Glancing to where the pinkette was staring, Michiko saw the man working to unload the box that he’d brought in prior. There didn’t seem to be much to him, he looked kind of plain really, other then his height and over heightened muscles. Then he disappeared into the back and Carma’s trance had been lifted as she blinked back into reality.

“Whoa…” She said, taking a sip from her coffee.

“You okay?”

“Yeah…I thought. Um, never mind.” In all the time Michiko had gotten to know Carma, she out of all her squad members would forever be a mystery, even more so then the sisters. She couldn’t nail her down; there was no point-to-pick about her other then - _unpredictable._  
Standing up from the table, Michiko went up to pay for the drinks as a way to thank her friends for coming with her today, but as she walked back and her red heels clicked along the floor, Brooke couldn’t help but stare in amazement,

“How are you walking in those things…?! Like…doesn’t it hurt?”

Michiko simply smiled,

“Hey…Just because I can’t see my feet doesn’t mean they shouldn’t look good…And besides, I can’t reach them to be able to tie any laces-“

Once they left the shop and were all about to head back to the Villa with their coffee craving satisfied, someone had started to call out to them from the distance,

“Hey, Michi!”

“Mizurou?” the light brunette turned around to see that in the other direction that her fiancé was racing towards her, trying his best not to slip on the thin ice on the concrete below him, “careful or you’ll be in the hospital before me.” she asked in laugher as he came to a sudden halt in front of her. It was always nice to have him come and meet her daily like this, but she had a feeling that these surprise encounters was starting to annoy her friends. Oh well, they better get used to it because he’s not going anywhere.

“I wanted to know how the dress shopping went and to make sure you’re okay-“ he said trying to take hold of her hands that she playfully slipped away from his grasp,

“Really…? You wanted to know how dress shopping went?” Not for a moment did she believe that. For a guy who actually liked to shop, even he got bored when the two of them went to the shopping district when they went into any of her stores. 

“Umm…I uh…just. I wanted to make sure you got home okay! It’s supposed to snow again tonight!”

“Mizuoru, it’s only 4 pm.” Michiko had to admit that him worrying about her was pretty sweet, but he was always looking for an excuse, “I would have been fine.”

“Not in those heels!” Brooke barked from the group, though was ignored. 

“I know you would’ve but…I can’t help but worry.”

“Look, I’m pregnant, not helpless.” She said with a weak smile and leaned in to hug him, “I appreciate you, you know that but I’m still able to do things by myself.”

“Umm…should we just head on home or?” Kitami asked, as the duo didn’t seem like they were very interested in them anymore. So the rest of the beta-squad left for home while Mizurou and Michiko headed to the Suzuya Squad’s house.

Apparently there was something they had to see, according to Juuzou that had sent them a text.  
Little did they know that when they arrived, the Suzuya squad had something special planned for them? 

\--

“So what’s for dinner tonight?” Shio asked sitting at the table a bit sluggish. As a surprise visit the boy’s had come over to the Villa after Hirako had gone to speak with Arima about something; only to be a little discouraged to see that one of the only cooks was absent that day.

“It was supposed to be Michiko’s night to cook but…looks like that’s not happening.” Shoko said taking a peak in the fridge to see what they had for food, “Hmm…Maybe we should’ve stopped at the market before we came home. Oh well, I guess we’ll work with what we got. Eggs and carrots anyone?”

“That can’t be all we have!” Kitami said with disbelief, “Me and Yoko went shopping just last week!” 

“Yeah well when Michiko’s looking for something to fix her cravings at 3 am, we run out of food fast.” The brunette groaned leaning her head on the table, “At least Koharu kept us up to speed with this…We used to eat a lot better with her too.”

“You guys sure talk about her a lot,” Yoko said, “Was she…who was she exactly again? Koori’s sister right?”

“Yeah, she was also our squad leader,” Brooke said, “she was a good leader too, we never had this problem...If she was still around, I think we’d be a little more organized.”

Brooke’s brash but honest statement was pretty much the voice inside of everyone’s head. The was no doubt that Kitami had been working hard these last few months to try and set the example for her squad the same way her late mentor did for them. But no matter how much she did, she wasn’t able to do it in the same light and even if she still new to her role, Kitami was already being thrown under the buss to help plan for their next raid. Shoko and Yoko never knew Koharu themselves, but they too felt a bit let down by Kitami’s efforts; well Yoko didn’t but Shoko saw room for improvement.  
Lowering her head a little, the blonde smiled yet she wanted to cry. But the truth hurt,

“I’m sorry everyone…I’m trying my best.”

“It’s fine Kitami…we don’t exactly have a choice here-“

“Stop it Brooke!” Shoko said, shoving her squad mate’s shoulder, “You don’t need to put in any more coins!”

“I know but…I’m getting tired of being left wondering!”

“About what?!”

“About everything!” the brunette pointed towards the already sunken Kitami, “She might be able to lighten up the mood, but she can’t do shit when it comes to instructing us! Remember Shoko, last week how she falsely called you out to fight at one end when it should have been Yoko!?”

“I got mixed up with their names!” The blonde added, her subordinates looking a little disheartened that by now she still mixed them up; especially when they looked nothing alike.

“Doesn’t matter, little mistakes can cost us!” Brooke rose from her seat at the table and with a quick tongue, spoke out of her frustration instead of her head, “Remember what Koori says…its all these little things that make operations failures or successes. That’s a thin line to walk and you fucking bubble headed, clumsy, accident prone, cherry pie princess….are already falling off it!” Her quick insults quickly shocked the entire group in the room, Brooke was no stranger to rude comments but this was intense even for her. For a moment everything went quiet except for the brunette trying to catch her breath.  
Shoko and Yoko didn’t know what to say and Carma just walked back and fell back into a beanbag chair that was placed behind her. Shio and Rikai just stared back and fourth between the two not knowing if they should interfere or not and even Yusa stayed low, hating himself for it.  
But Kitami didn’t want anyone to defend her, she had to be strong and take the insults because…Koharu would.

“If you don’t like the way I’m doing things…Why don’t you say anything?!”

“Because it’ll go in one ear and out the other! Did I forget to mention….You’re forgetful!”

“I’m a lot of things, Brooke, but I’m not forgetful! I listen and I watch people…I don’t always make note of it to them but I know things that many in this room don’t…”

“Bullshit.”

“No it’s not…!”

“Kitami you don’t even notice that Yu-“

“Can we all just stop! Please!?” Shio yelled over them, “Don’t fight you guys! You’re friends…” The boy’s desperate plea was soon over breached, ignored, as the two continued to bicker and argue. Bringing up events that didn’t even matter to their argument. 

“What am I doing wrong?! Tell me!”

“You’re trying too hard, You’re trying too hard to be Koharu! _You’ll never be her!”_

But all that anger of the pointless name calling and nagging was starting to get on Yusa’s last nerve, if non of her friend’s were going to step in to her defense on this rant then he would. He wouldn’t cower away like he usually did.  
Pushing himself in between the two women, Yusa shoved Brooke aside and stood in front of the blonde. No one ever noticed before but…they were almost equal height now and he was able to shield her. 

All this time he was seen as just a child…had they forgotten that he wasn’t?

“Stop this.” He said, “Issue’s can be resolved you know…but not like this.” _Not before someone whips out their kagune._

“Yusa-“ Kitami choked,

“No! You’re not the one-“

“ **YUSA!** ” She snapped and for the first time, he actually saw her angry…at him. Her smile had been replaced by a scowl and her eyes weren’t shimmery, “This isn’t your fight to pick! Step aside…Now.” His face fell as he felt himself being put back in his place in the ranks. To Kitami…he was still a child. Not an equal. Still, through her anger she rose and marched past the group, making sure not to touch anyone as she approached the stairs,

“Where are you going?” Yusa asked, wanting to follow her but Kitami held out her hand to stop him,

“To cry,” she said, “I need to cool down…I don’t want to say anything I’ll regret…”

Yusa could only watch as once again he was labeled.  
He wanted to cry too.

\--

“I know that we were going to wait until after the wedding to decide but,” inside the Suzuya squads home, Mizurou, Juuzou, Miyuki, Keijin and Hanbee had a little surprised planned for Michiko as something along the lines of a welcome present, “Hey, no peeking, keep them closed! Just 2 more steps.”

“Is this like a trust exercise or what?” Michiko asked her fiancé who guided her up towards his room with the rest of his squad following behind them. Once he turned on the light, she opened her eyes to something that nearly took her breath away. In a section of the room sat a small nursery area all set up. But what really caught her eye was the crib that was all nicely put together and set up with blankets and stuffed animals, all with a neutral green theme. Cute.

“Tada! What do you think?” Juuzou asked jumping in front of her, “We all helped add something to it!” Indeed she could tell that their…handiwork had been involved. Judging from the stuffed giraffes in the cradle, the handmade blanket hanging off the side of the railing, the framed pictures of birds, and of course, the solar system mobile. Michiko covered her mouth in shock.

“Oh…!”

She felt Mizurou pull her close from behind and she could feel the baby fidget inside her,

“I know this won’t be permanent…but for the first couple of years I thought maybe…You could move in with us.”

Move in…with him. For some reason in the back of her mind she’d always assumed he’d be moving in with her…not the other way around. To move here means she’d have to leave her squad behind. 

The Suzuya squad…they’d certainly had started to grow on her these last few months as they’d all been very supportive and seemed to take her in as one of their own…But Mizurou never consulted her about this. Turning around so that she could face him, she struggled to find the words to say without sounding ungrateful…in some ways she was.

“Mizurou…we never talked about this.”

“Michi?”

“Look, this set up it’s…It’s very sweet of you, from all of you, but…”

“But what?”

“You never…asked me if this is what I wanted!” It came out a bit colder then she would have liked it to, but it was clear that he caught it and it hurt him just by the pained look on his face. 

“What you wanted…? I just figured you’d want the baby to live in a quiet space.”

“Quieter space?!”

“Well…” Mizurou glanced back at the rest of his group, nudging his head to give them some time alone. If things weren’t so complicated, she would have just said they should move out completely and get their own place off the bat. Once they were the only one’s in the room he finished his sentence, “you know Michiko…you’re squad, isn’t exactly…humble- no that’s not the word...your home isn’t fit for a child. Look, your friends are nice but…they like to party, they’re loud, and rough, and I worry that-“

“Worry that what?” He was right about everything thus far…how did she not think about those factors. Her friends were rowdy, even more so then the Suzuya Squad, if that was possible. But those were all things that could be adjusted, Michiko was sure that once the baby was born that they’d adapt to the new environment…they’d have to anyways for Hairu and Koori as well. But why would Mizurou worry, “Worry. About. What?”

He hesitated for a moment, sitting at the end of his bed and glancing at his feet and his head lowered.

“I worry that…one of them might hurt the baby.” Those words stung her a little, she’d admit,

“Hurt it?” she barked, “are you afraid- they wouldn’t-! Is it because they have ghoul-“ Mizurou didn’t reply, he just restlessly sat there struggling to make eye contact, even biting his lip, his usual habit when nervous, “Mizurou…I’ve had the surgery you know…are you afraid that I’ll harm our child too?”

“No! Never!”

“Then why do you feel that way about them?!” She shouted - more like screamed – at him, making the man lean back in his seat like a puppy that had just been scolded, “They’re no different then me you know. They’re crazy! I know! But they’re all good people and would never, ever, hurt a friend! That’s besides the point, they don’t eat people, and they all eat food just like anyone else!” 

“Michiko have you not- no, I guess not.” 

“Have I not?!”

“It’s nothing!”

“Say it!”

Mizurou mumbled something to himself before rising up to her level, 

“During the Rose operation…Carma was seen eating a ghoul corpse.”

_What? Carma? No! Not Carma, she wouldn’t!_

“I don’t believe you…”

“I’m just telling you what I know.”

“You never mentioned it before!”

“I assumed you already knew!” Mizurou was now yelling back at her, nearly forcing her to take a step back. But he watched himself, he wouldn’t dare hurt her, “she got an upgrade.”

“I knew that.” She replied,

“But…she didn’t just upgrade by one level.” 

Michiko knew the dangers of upgrading her kagune, if any of the Qs did so; they had a risk of turning more into ghoul then human. That’s why Koharu turned down the idea and forced them all to train for their strength. Carma went behind her back and asked the Bureau for approval…did she ever say how high she wanted to go?  
That couldn’t be the case…Carma- she just wasn’t like that. If Mizurou was joking with her, he was a fool.

“If you don’t like my friends you could just say so…but making up shit like that to fuck with my head is just-“

“I’m being serious! You don’t believe me, you can check yourself!”

“I don’t need to. I trust my friends…”

“Then trust me!” He pleaded, “How have you not seen Michiko? Does she ever eat with you? Is she sick? Have you seen her in-“

“Shut up!” She shoved him away from her, forcefully enough that her ghoulish side started to seep and the veins started to seep out from her eye. Luckily he wasn’t hurt when he crashed into the side of the wall, but for a moment, he looked scared of her. 

“Mic-“

No…why did she do that?! She attacked him! 

_No no no no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO **NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!**_

_What have I done?!_

Rushing over to him as quick as she could, she leaned down hesitant to reach out for him,

“Mizu-“

“Don’t!” He shouted, flinching away from her, “don’t touch me!” 

“I’m…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to-“ But she did it and now she couldn’t change that fact. She attacked him…she was only lucky she didn’t hurt him. He didn’t look at her; he didn’t bother to look at how sorry she actually was for this. But she truly didn’t believe Carma was a monster and this was- it was all too much she lost control of her emotions!  
Maybe she was the monster.

“I was only…looking out for you.” He said, getting up from the floor with his back to her, “Sorry for caring.”

“Oi! What’s going on in there?” They heard Keijin’s voice from the other side, “We heard a noise!”

“I’ll…I’ll just go.” Michiko wanted to see if he’d give her anymore time, or at least an ear, but after what just happened she wouldn’t either. 

 

She made sure to slam his door once she left his room; the mini sun from the mobile snapped off as a result. 

“Great to know that was secure…” Mizurou muttered to himself, taking a seat on his bed with his hands in his face. That mobile would have had a greater chance at hurting the baby then the likeliness of her friends…but Carma, he still couldn’t trust her.

\--

“I need to get out of here! I need too!” Koharu said to Amon, her body shaking uncontrollably from both fear and the on the edge of going insane. Amon placed his cloak over her, “They need me!”

“I’ve tried everything to get out of here…” he said letting out a sigh, taking a glance at the meat she’d left untouched, “But he’s…never left this place without someone watching over it…ever since that man managed to get out.”

“What man?”

Amon hesitated, 

“A guy who got into some trouble with Aogiri…a human. He…was taken and brought here to be used as another test subject as punishment. He too was…turned into a full ghoul…”

“What about you? Why are you here?”

“I don’t want to talk about it..”

“Are you a full ghoul too?”

Amon didn’t reply, instead he pushed the container of meat towards her,

“Come on, you need to eat something otherwise you’ll be worse off then a ghoul…”

“I can’t…” she squeaked, “I can’t-“

“I know how you feel…I really do. But the pain of hunger is far worse…” 

She took the container and placed it in her lap, the stench of it was off putting...because she found it appetizing. With her fingers, she pulled off a small piece, wheezing as she did so, and took a small, delicate bite of it. Tears pouring down her cheeks as she continued to eat. She felt better…but felt worse. She just lost everything she ever had…she was no investigator anymore. 

“Hey, who’s crying?” A voice came from the outside of the cell and Amon groaned, “You’re really annoying.”

“Not as annoying as you…” Amon muttered under his breath. Curiously, Koharu got up from her spot and went up to the door to see who this voice belonged to.

“Hello, who are you?” He asked, blonde with dark circles…and a tacky white suit, “what are you looking at?”

For a moment, Koharu thought up a plan that just might be her ticket out of this place…depending if he was as dumb as he sounded. That being said…she’d have to play dumber.

“I’m Koharu Ui,” she said, her voice a bit raspy from crying, “I um…Was just crying because…Well…I saw how beautiful your suit is.”

“Huh?”

She grinned,

“Yeah…it’s just so, clean – compared to what most men wear these days…so refined. I don’t believe I caught your name.” For a minute he just looked at her dumbfounded, did her face look scrunched up or-

“I’m Naki!” He finally replied, “And- the doc finally found someone with good taste in suits!”

“Indeed…I mean…compared to this cell, that suit…when I saw you in it…I swear I was looking at a god.”

Naki laughed,

“You think?”

“I know…” She tried her best to laugh with him, glancing back at Amon who just looked embarrassed, “Say…you don’t happen to have…any spares on you?”

“I’m wearing it!”

“No, I mean…another suit. For him,” She pointed at the man behind her, “He could use a little…clean up.”

“Him?” Naki peered behind her suspiciously, “I don’t know if a suit will help him…”

“Please…If I have to live in this cell with him, he can at least look decent…” She whined, “Pleaseeee! Help the guy out!” Naki scratched the back of his head, glancing around the area as to make sure no one was around. 

“Ugh…Alright, I see your point. I’ll try to find one in his size…I’m warning you miss, It won’t help him.” And once he left, Amon nearly had a fit!

“What do you think you’re doing Koharu?!”

“I’m breaking us out!”

“By putting me in a white suit?!”

“Quiet down…” she hushed, looking back at the door to make sure Naki was still gone, “Listen…here’s the plan.”

 

Naki wasn’t gone for too long by the time he returned carrying the extra suit. 

“Just so you know…when you die I’m going to need this back-“ And as soon as the door creaked open, he walked into the cell to find it complexly abandoned. Huh?  
From the ceiling, Koharu had leaped down on top of him, attacking him from his back, while Amon quickly took the front. “You tricked me!” he shouted, pulling out his own kagune, “That’s not fair!”

“Life isn’t fair!” Koharu shouted blocking his attacks, “that’s just the way it is!”

“and after all that work I did to find him a suit!” 

“I wouldn’t wear something like that-“ Amon said, tripping Naki from under his feet as Koharu impaled him with her two parts of her kagune, sending the fluid that would temporary paralyze him. As soon as she heard him scream, she pulled away and she and Amon took the break for the door, just managing to escape.

“Let’s move!” She said, pulling the hood of the cloak over her head, “I’ve got to get back to the CCG!”

“Wait! STOP!” Naki tried to call out to them, but he could no longer feel anything from his neck down, “Miss, did you…really like the suit?!”


	21. That's When You Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely readers! 
> 
> This chapter is pretty long but it's full of fluff to make up for all the drama the past couple of weeks. I found lots of inspiration to help me write this one <3
> 
> Thank you and I hope you enjoy!

Getting past Naki was the easiest part of their escape to say the least.  
On their way out of the laboratory they had to face many other ghouls, non-that served a challenge for either of them, but their numbers surly forced them to keep alert and to never let their guard down. It was hard to believe, two former investigators were now fighting side by side…only this time fighting as the enemy themselves.  
Once they managed to get out, Koharu didn’t have a moment to rest before she was already taking off towards where the CCG headquarters was located – or where she could assume from this unfamiliar terrain.

“Koharu! Stop!” Amon called after her, “You won’t be able to get in!”

“What do you-“

“The scanners!”

They might recognize her…but the scanning mechanisms over the doors; they’d read her as a ghoul now. She’d be killed on the spot, this time by armed professionals that she still called allies.  
She could go to the Villa, except that at this hour of the night…she’d give her friends a heart attack. They all think she’s dead; that’s the worst part of this situation right now…But if she was a ghoul…then what was she to do? Where could she go? _Did she even have any options?_

“Where…do I go from here?” She asked him, “I’ve fought ghouls for a long time and yet…I have no idea where to go. Where do they go to hide? What do they do?” Her face was hidden by the dark cloak that he’d given her to cover her body, but his answer was nothing that was to help their situation.

“Let’s…Let’s walk a bit.” He gestured for her to follow him down the sidewalk. Where they were located…it gave her a sickening feeling of being abandoned and alone. He was there but she saw no company.

 

Dawn was just starting to break once they started to make it back into parts of the city more familiar to them, the light from the sun was just starting to peak through some of the buildings nearly blinding them; her squad should be awake now…or maybe not, she didn’t even know what day of the week it was. Amon was quiet too, was this his first time outside in a while? What was he thinking about? Did he have any coworkers he missed? As much as she wanted to know, she wouldn’t ask him; it really wasn’t any of her business anyways.  
However, their morning walk was soon cut short once Koharu spotted someone stepping outside of one of the shops and setting up a small chalkboard- menu stand.  
That red hair…she’d seen it before. 

“Ryo?” She spoke her thoughts aloud, staring in his direction and with her nose to the air, she was able to sense something she was never able to do in her lower rank…he was a ghoul. This was certainly proof to show just how easily they merged in with society, there was one right in front of her for so long and she didn’t even suspect it. But maybe, just maybe, if she explained her situation he could help her, if he’d believe her story that was…he’d probably want her head. At this point it would be worth a try, “Ryo!” she called out, darting to the other side of the street where he glanced up and in pure shock froze in place,

“Ui-chan?”

 

 **No way.**  
It couldn’t be. Was that really her?! It’s been so long since he’d last seen her- But she came back…with a new scent…and a man. Still he couldn’t hold back his smile when he saw her, only she seemed more frantic then excited…wait where were her clothes…? Was she only wearing that cape, wasn’t she cold?

“Ui-chan what’s the matter? You’ve been busy or what?” he teased, stepping back a little,

“Ryo! I- we need your help!”

“You- what?”

She walked a little closer to him, so close that he thought that he just might pass out right then and there. What was she?

“Is there anyone inside? Any customers?"

“N-No…”

“Good because…I need to speak with you. I need your help.”

“What?“

“I know you’re a ghoul.”

 **She knows what?!** At first he didn’t know what to say to her and backed up slightly in case she might attempt to attack…but she didn’t give off the body language to do so,

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He choked,

“Don’t play that way, I know what you are and so do you but…I’m sure you know what I am too….But that’s why I need to talk to you.”

“Are you…going to kill me? Report me?”

“No! Look can we- just speak inside…please!?”

What in the name of - what did she need to talk about at such- this was so random…she just showed up out of the blue and she wants to talk about something. Well Ryo would give up his left leg to assist her…even if she knew his secret…but even when she said she knew she didn’t look disgusted with him; that was a good thing Ryo supposed. Turning over the open sign on the door back to closed, he lead them inside much to Touka’s shock when she saw them enter, 

“Ryo-“

“Touka…” the red head said, guiding them towards a larger empty table, “They need our help.”

 

“Who are they? Wait-“ seemingly, the woman knew exactly whom was sitting in her café, Ryoichi’s crush, but also an investigator who had been out for Masaya. Did she finally snoop them out? Though she found it odd for an investigator to be strutting around with nothing but a black cloak and trying to hide her body…but most importantly she smelt like a ghoul so that took the edge off a little bit. Keeping alert, the owner took a cautious approach towards them,

“How may we help you?”

 

Koharu sucked in her breath…how was she going to explain this without sounding like a freak? They may not even believe her but she knew these people were ghouls, she could sense them now and even though it was her internal instinct to kill them, she had to stay calm, as she desperately needed their help and some answers.  
Both Amon and Koharu explained what had happened and where they’d just escaped from, she explained her concerns and being at a loss…her worthlessness of being an investigator and was most likely no longer under that category.

“Strange…” Touka said, “I’ve heard of one-eyes…but both of yours turned?”

“Yeah…I don’t get it…”

“Well that explains why Naki was on watch duty…” Ryo sighed, “He’s not the sharpest knife, as your plan must have proved. I’m guessing your value wasn’t worth that much to the Dr… _A failed experiment_.”

“A failed experiment?” Koharu asked,

“Maybe…I think Kanou was working for one-eyed ghouls instead, a stronger hybrid…maybe he pushed you a little too far.” 

Too far? No kidding. She was a ghoul now…she couldn’t eat normal food, her senses were even higher then they were before, and her healing was apparently strong enough to repair her arm.

“I’m sorry Ryo but…how do you know all that?” Touka interrupted, narrowing her eyes,

“I uh-“

“Touka, I’m back!” A voice called from the back room, “Where is everyone?”

“Up front Masaya.” She called to him.

Masaya? Oh…she could faintly remember him, another worker here.  
A man emerged from the back storage room, a bag hanging over his shoulder and a very distinctive hat on his head; the raven-haired girl nearly threw up. That was the cowboy she’s been trying to find! Who would’ve guessed that they’d already met once before. When he saw her, it was very clear to see that the anger was just as mutual. He dropped the sack on the floor and she could see him starting to slowly start to turn ghoulish on them and Koharu also followed suit, but then something stopped that broad man as if his anger had just evaporated into thin air at just the sight of something or someone else,

“Amon?” He asked, “Is that…you?”

“Masaya…It’s been a long time. How are you?” The man sitting behind stood up from his seat and lowered his head towards the ghoul. _What._

“Masaya…you know him?” Touka asked trying to connect the dots, “How?”

“We were...both under Kanou at…the time…”

Under Kanou? Was this Masaya…? As Koharu started to think on this more and more she started to think and ponder on a thought. She might be over thinking but the possibility was too great to not consider…but obviously she couldn’t ask it out straight right here…but she could ask something else,  
“Are you a full ghoul?” Koharu asked curiously? “I mean, were you once a human too? I’m just…you-”

The man sighed, taking off his hat and rubbing the back of his neck. Ryo also looked intrigued, 

“Are you?”

“Well…yeah, I was.” Pulling up another chair, Masaya took a seat in between Amon and Ryo, thinking of what to say, “I don’t want to get into it too much other then…my father had some rough business with a ghoul and…got revenge on me.”

“That’s it?” Koharu asked, “That’s….it?!”

“I’m not getting into it…not with you.”

“Hey…I’m not an investigator anymore…not like this.” 

“Doesn’t matter. It’s my business…not yours.” And scooting his chair back, the man left the room and went back to unload the sack he brought in…and Koharu saw it leaking blood. 

She could hear Touka let out a brief sigh of annoyance,

“Well given your situations…I suppose I set you up a sleeping place upstairs to hide you for a little while…I can’t let you out with this new knowledge anyways. Ryo, can you take the couch?”

“Hey!”

“Umm…Are you…expecting me and him to be in the same bed?” Koharu pointed at Amon who looked as surprised as her, “We’re not together you know…”

“Oh, you’re not? Well then… You can have Ryoichi’s bed and Masaya I’m sure is fine with sharing a room with Amon and Ryo…It’ll be tight but it’ll work for now.”  
With a better sleeping set up, Touka requested that their two new additions take the day to rest and sleep, they had lots of things to think about and she had a shop to run…and her own worries in mind to consider.

 

Koharu was placed in Ryo’s room and for the most part…is was rather small…but it reminded her of her brother’s apartment in the way things were set up to minimalist standards. She kept the blinds closed that day and even though she was exhausted, her body would not allow her to sleep. Thankfully Touka lent her some spare clothes…  
Maybe some water would help.  
She would have had some warm milk to sooth her as a sleep aid…but clearly that was no longer an option. When she found herself in the small kitchen around noon, no one was around…except for Masaya whom looked like he was on his break - Probably - and getting some water himself. When he saw her he gave her a nod to acknowledge her, but nothing else. When she turned on the sink and fetched a glass to fill, she couldn’t help but bring up something that had been on her mind.

“If…You don’t mind me asking…” she said, taking a seat at the other end of the small table, “Do you think…by any chance you know someone I know…?”

“Maybe I do maybe I don’t. Depends who you want to know about…” He responded coldly, “Why?”

“Because…My friend…she had someone named Masaya who was said to be killed by ghouls.”

“There are lots of people who have my name.”

“Yeah but…do you, Masaya-“

“Shimizu…You don’t have any right to use my given name…” She knew why he was bitter with her; he had every right to be. Not only to she injure him…but she remembered killing two children that were with him that night. Still he should understand that she was only doing her job and he was lucky she let him live. _Ungrateful._

“Alright…Masaya Shimizu…Do you know Carma Kimura?”

 

When Koharu spoke that name. That sacred name, he choked on his water and covered his mouth to keep from getting it all over the place and once he could breath, he stared at her, he was pretty tempted to kill her right there. 

“How do you know her?!”

“So you do know her!” She exclaimed, rising from her seat with a jubilant smile, “So you’re alive! Oh that will make Carma so happy-“

“How do you know her?” He asked again.

“She’s part of my squad…duh.”

“ **Duh**?” How was someone so innocent, so pure, a mortal goddess doing with her? Carma was an investigator? He would have called bullshit if not for the memory of seeing a pretty pink haired investigator when they rescued Karren…his instincts were right after all, his mind wasn’t playing tricks. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and finished his glass in one swoop then slammed it back on the table, rubbing his forehead, “I can’t believe she did that…”

 

Koharu watched as Masaya thought over her words…was he looking for her too? Or was her poor friend the only one suffering from the loss? She rubbed her cup with her thumb and looked in at the liquid,

“You know…she did it to revenge you…”

“Revenge me?”

“Well, she thinks you’re dead…I mean…she loves you. You’re always on her mind…she’s never told me much about you because…I think it hurts her…”  
“I’m guessing…she’s human…with ghoul powers too?”

“Yeah. What I was.” She responded, “She’s a kind girl but…she’s also a good fighter. You’ve been her motivation.”

He didn’t respond. How would one respond to knowing that the love of his life turned into a killing machine over something he was in some terms, responsible for? Finishing her own glass she said,

“I need to find my squad again…If I find them, I’ll find Carma…Would you care to help me?” 

“Help with what?” a woman asked, emerging from, presumably, another bedroom, “Wait- are you?”

“Yes, yes she is.” Masaya spoke, now on Koharu’s defence, “it’s fine, Karren…I don’t think she’ll hurt us.” Well that was probably a lie on his part, of course he probably saw her as the enemy…but she had information on Carma, Koharu was valuable to him now. This new ghoul didn’t seem as alarmed by her presence as the other’s had when she first walked in, probably if she made it this far she was in the clear, and was thankful for it. 

“Well…I’m sure Touka will fill me in on details later…” Karren uttered, making her way over to the living space where she retrieved a very pretty violin off of it’s stand, “I was going to practice…”

“I don’t mind,” Koharu said, going to the sink to fill up her glass again, “It’s been a while since I’ve heard any music…”

The ghoul muttered something under her breath, probably annoyed with the fact that Koharu wanted to stay and listen, but nonetheless positioned herself so that the carefully crafted instrument was sitting under her chin with bow in hand. The melody that she played was nothing the Koharu knew personally, but it was quite beautiful and elegant, it even gave her goose bumps! Masaya left the kitchen to head back down to the café but Koharu had no intension of returning to bed just yet, she wanted to hear the end of the song. Once the song ended and the ghoul took a breath of relief, Koharu clapped her hands a little even if Karren just rolled her eyes.

\--

Kitami had woken up a bit earlier the next morning to fetch some ingredients from the store so they could all at least have a good breakfast. But despite all the things that she’d been called that night prior and all the flaws that had been pointed out, she kept one thing in mind that she saw as criticism in a better light.  
At least it was quieter to go out at this time in the morning, well for Tokyo anyways, and she didn’t have to worry about the large back-to-back crowds like when she’d be on her way to work. It was nice actually, that brisk morning air hitting her lungs like a brutal awakening…it made her feel alive. 

“At least the sun’s out.” She said, smiling a little at the positive note of her morning. 

As she neared the store, to her surprise, she ran into Yusa whom was also walking down the sidewalk in her direction. When he spotted her, he seemed to go red.  
He should put a scarf on or something, this winter air was sharp even in sunlight.  
Ignoring the market, she went over to him to see why he was up and at it so early,

“Yusa, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, umm…”

“Did…something happen?”

“No I was just…I was going over to the Villa to…apologize to you…” Now that she was really looking at him, Kitami never noticed that he was that tall…maybe because she’d never seen him with such straight posture, he must be feeling confident today. She kept her smile on her face,

“Apologize for what?”

“Interfering…with last night.”

“Yusa…Did you really think I’d be upset about that? I mean…You were the only one to stick up for me back there but…I was okay on my own…actually I should apologize for snapping at you like that. As a leader I guess I’ll have to face this kind of criticism from my team and I have to learn how to deal with it. That’s just the way of the game.”

“But the things she said to you…I just…I had to do something! If I hadn’t…I would have _regretted_ it…” He glanced to the side and his stance lowered making him look small again. Taking a breath, the blonde walked to the dark haired boy’s side and lifted his face so that he was looking at her again, “But…what Brooke said…about you trying too hard to be Koharu…I agree with that.”

 

“Me too.” She sighed, glancing to the ground as the sun now started to peak through the openings and reflect off the buildings, her hair glistening and her little red bows seemed to almost sparkle for a moment. She was _so beautiful_ …and she didn’t even know it. He wanted to tell her that, he wanted her to know because not once had he ever seen any other individual say those words to her…the time might not have been right but he had to at least let her know what was going on in his head, what he’d kept bottled inside…some words that she needed to hear from someone even if she didn’t understand their true meaning coming from a teenager,

“Just be…Just be Marie Kitami!” Yusa said, taking a quick breath, “The Marie Kitami everyone knows doesn’t go around assuring everything is in order and she doesn’t try to play the game of someone else…she doesn’t work under anyone’s shadow! Marie Kitami…She’s fun and she energetic, she’s good at making others smile and even though she’s klutzy…she gets up to her feet again every time she falls. Marie Kitami doesn’t play by the rules, she has her own and yet is still respectable and cares for everyone no matter who they are or what they do. Marie Kitami could be in the darkest situation possible and yet…she finds the candlelight…even if it’s a mile away! Marie Kitami… **she’s beautiful** , her name is beautiful, and- no one tells her that even though she deserves to be told everyday with daffodils and roses and cheesecake because she’s sweet and loves sweet things! But she’s right…she can stand her own ground because she’s strong and a cheerleader, a _rainbow_ to everyone! Marie Kitami she’s my-“ But Yusa was never able to finish, not before she started to cry right in front of him! Well that’s not what he had in mind, at least not that speech…it just came over him and now he made her upset! “Uhhh…!?”

“You…You think my name is…beautiful? Why?”

“Why? It’s…”

“You know…no one has ever…told me that. At least not in a long time.” The blonde wiped her eyes with her sleeve and still she was smiling, was that a good thing?

“Really? Why not?”

“Well…It’s a long story…but lets just say it had no meaning to me. Everyone’s just kinda ignored the fact but…you’re the first person who’s…called me by it that many times…and you said it’s beautiful…”

“Yeah…it is.” Maybe now she’d understand that she was more to him then she’d know. He was still only a teenager and he may not have understood the concept of love in the same ways that the adults did…but he had an idea of what it is was, this must have been it because the way he was looking at her made him feel warm all over and that smile. That sweet smile of hers. He’d never be able to pull one off like that and in some ways he wished no one else would be able to see hers…but he wouldn’t ever stop her from being her. Yusa would encourage it. 

“You know Yusa…If you want to call me by my name, you can.” She said, pulling off her winter scarf and wrapping it around his neck, “Sorry you were making me chilly just looking at you, you’re face is all red!”

Nope. She didn’t get it. She was a hard chase but…if he couldn’t persuade her at least no one else could either! A safe bet anyways.

“You sure?”

“Yeah! You said it’s beautiful after all!” She spun her feet around, heading back to the store, though turning back to him again, “Have you eaten yet?”

“Hm?”

“You know, food?”

Yusa shook his head.

“Well, if you don’t mind helping carry a few bags then I’ll make sure to cook you something! Come on!” And just as she was about to go inside, with him behind, she glanced in the direction of the corner store at the end of the street, “Shio, Rikai, you want to come too? Don’t try and hide…I can see you.”  
In all honesty Yusa had no idea they were following him and he was thankful for the scarf, not only did it smell like Kit- Marie, but it also hid his humiliation knowing full well they heard his speech.

\--

Michiko returned last night much to everyone’s surprise, but she hadn’t left her room since and the sound of muffled sobs could be heard throughout the night right into the morning. But this wasn’t right, Kitami had to get her up other wise she’d hermit away! Knocking on the door, she tried to catch her attention,

“Michiko, it’s me, can I come in? I brought you some tea and some breakfast.”

“No! No thanks! I don’t want it!”

“Come on Michiko you’re being ridiculous…” Shoko chimed in, “you’re not going to fix anything…or whatever you’re upset about…by staying in there; and no one can help you if you don’t let us in!”

“There’s nothing you can do anyways!” she shouted back, “It’s _all_ my fault!”

“What is?”

She didn’t respond back this time and now Carma piped in,

“Maybe it has something to do with Tamaki?” the pinkette sighed, “and so close to the wedding.”

Well If Michiko wasn’t going to talk, that was fine, but refusing to at least eat was drawing the patience for Shoko and she made that very clear by shoving herself into the room, breaking the door in the process!

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“If you want to mope and cry about your love-life go right ahead! But not eating, that’s just being stupid! Your kid is depending on you to eat so don’t let your selfishness get in the way of letting it suffer and starve. If not for yourself, think of _Little Bean!”_

 

Little Bean…the nickname Juuzou had given the baby when he saw some of the early ultrasound photos and it just kind of stuck with everyone. It did look like a bean at the time though.  
But Shoko was right, just because she wasn’t hungry right now didn’t mean that someone else wasn’t.  
Taking the food from her friend, she cut her egg into smaller pieces with her fork and carefully ate it piece by piece. Her pallet didn’t like it but at least it was going to good use. The toast was also a nice treat; she hadn’t had bread in a while. 

“Hello!” called a familiar voice from down stairs, “Shio? What are you doing here?”

“Is that Hairu?” asked Michiko, “mind checking, Kitami?”

“Sure- Oh! Marie is just fine.”

“What?”

“It’s a cute story.” Shoko laughed, taking a seat at the end of her bed, “But...what’s up with yours?”

“Oh…that. Mizurou and I…got into a disagreement.”

“About what?”

“Just…things. He wanted me to move in with him but I always thought he’d be moving here and then he had this cute nursery all set up in his room and they all helped with it then he said some things – then I said some things – and then- I did something…” 

“I don’t think I caught a word you just said except… _’I did something.’_ ” 

Michiko hesitated for a moment, what was she to say that she attacked her fiancé with her ghoulish side?! That would be enough to turn anyone away but Shoko…could she trust her with that?

“I…nearly hurt him.” She then proceeded to tell her the whole story of what had happened between them, how it started and all; even telling her the part of his mistrust. And the honey blonde just shrugged and adjusted her cap,

“Well you know Michiko, I can’t really blame him for not wanting to live here…I mean, putting myself into his shoes…I’d be afraid too. I’m still shocked about Carma though.”

“You’re no help.” She sighed, pulling the blankets over herself again, “I thought you’d be on my side.”

“I’m on no one’s side,” she responded, “I guess…I just have to look at both ends and pin point the reasons…but is the wedding off?”

“I don’t know…neither of us said it was.”

“Then at least you have that much hope.” Shoko grinned, “Now let me ask you another question!”

All these questions and demands. Really, all she wanted to do was have a little time to just cry and wallow in her own self pity over her mistake. She was aloud that much, even for a day! But with a squad like hers...she could count that out.

“No more!”

“Yes just one,” Then yanking off her blankets and standing over her squad mate’s body, Shoko grabbed her by the shoulders and sat her up so that she was looking directly in her eyes, “Do you love him?”

“Do I- well, yes.”

“All the more reason to fight, right? Look, I’ve never been in love nor have I had a crush on anyone before but I do know something from books and TV, love and marriage, it’s not all _lovey-dovey kiss-kiss_ all the time. You’re not going to wake up next to him everyday thinking about how much you love him, some days you might just groan. You’re going to disagree and you’re going to argue but guess what, at the end of the day you have each other and your differences to be thankful for. The way I see it, if you get through a challenge or a struggle you get stronger and you learn…you appreciate things so much more. If you love him enough, you’ll fight to keep that love, even if it isn’t always evident.”

She already knew walking into it that marriage wouldn’t be the easiest thing she’d ever do but…Shoko brought up some fair points that Michiko never even glanced over. No, she probably wouldn’t think about the hot romance everyday…but that wouldn’t change the fact that she’d love him, even if they showed love in different respects. They’d have to overcome their differences and right now, talking things out and clearing up a misunderstanding would be their best course of action. Even if Mizurou didn’t trust her squad, she did. They were there for her when she needed them and when she didn’t. It was this pregnancy alone that was really showing her what these people meant to her, the new and the old ones. Giving Shoko a hug, Michiko was soon being forced out of bed, 

“Now get moving, get dressed, get your face on, and wear your lucky bra, whatever you need to do! But go talk things out with your man!”

“Fine but don’t rush me! I can only go so fast with a five pound baby using my bladder as a punching bag!”

“What’s with all the screaming?” Brooke asked sleepily, taking a peak inside the room to see that Michiko was below Shoko in less then…presentable state, “You sure get some weird cravings Michiko…”

“It’s not what it looks like! Brooke don’t tell anyone about this! EVER!”

 

Once she was all cleaned up and heading down stairs, she saw that indeed Ui and Hairu had come by for a visit…or more so to probably start discussing plans for the raid. As soon as the other expectant mother, whom looked as if she was going to pop at any moment, saw her and it was if she could already tell something was on her mind…or maybe Shoko already told them.

“Michiko…”

“I’ll be fine,” she said slipping on her heels by the front door, “I’m going to work things out.”

Hairu furrowed her brows when she saw the light brunette slipping on her shoes. Why did everyone think it was bad to have pretty feet?! 

“If you’re wearing those you’re not walking I hope…”

“Well…”

“Koori!” the pinkette called to her boyfriend that was leaned over the coffee table sketching out plans and mapping, “Can you do me a favour?”

“Um, Sure,” he said spinning himself around and staring at the dangling car keys in his girlfriend’s hands.

“Can you drive Michiko to the Suzuya Squad’s?”

Michiko knew that this was probably something he really didn’t want to do for her as he looked annoyed with the request, but with a long sigh he held out his hand for the keys and walked over to the front door to slip on his own shoes. 

“Only for you Hairu…”

 _‘You’ve trained him well’_ Michiko thought to herself, _‘why aren’t you two engaged yet?’_

\--

 

“You look pathetic…even for you.” Keijin said as he found Mizurou sluggish on the couch staring at the TV blankly, “You staying here all day or what?”

“Don’t talk to me…” He grumbled out, “I’m not in the mood…”

“Mizurou’s been down since yesterday…What happened? I never saw…” Miyuki asked and Keijin shrugged,

“Something with the girl I guess…Judging from the way she darted out of here in a crying mess…”

“How could you Mizurou!? She was so nice! She was actually interested in my satellite discussions!”

“Wait…Michiko’s not staying?” Juuzou asked, poking his head of the kitchen, “What? Why? I saw her upset but…”

“And after all that work we did setting up this place for the kid. Do you know how many hours I spent looking for those perfect bird photo’s?”

“Relax…I didn’t break up with her.” Mizurou responded, “We just…got into a disagreement.”

“That’s one hell of a disagreement.” The blonde man let out a heavy sigh shaking his head, “But I warned you that you were moving things too quickly…now you’re in a real mess.”

Mizurou didn’t like his words…but it was hard to come to terms with the truth. On Christmas, it would be a year since they first started dating. But…he loved her enough to want to marry her even in such a short amount of time; no woman ever put a trance on him like that before. 

“Well whatever you two had a…argument over,” Now Hanbee was in on it too; “I think that it would be best that you get whatever you need to off your chest before your wedding…if it’s still a thing.”

Was the wedding still a thing? He wasn’t even sure…by the way they left things,

“I’m going to assume we’re going to be holding it off…” Mizurou sighed, turning off the TV and sinking back into the couch, circles starting to form under his eyes. All his squad mates came into the living area sharing concerned glances for their friend whom hadn’t been this depressed in…forever. All but Keijin who could only click his tongue,

“Didn’t want to say I told you so, but I told you so. You jumped the gun, you didn’t wait to get to know her a bit more, now the kid is going to be the one to suffer…if it’s life wasn’t going to be messed up enough having both mom an dad risking their lives everyday and living with uncertainty…”

“ **Oi!** ” Mizurou was willing to put up with what Keijin had to say about him - he deserved it - but bringing his unborn child into this would push his patience, “Nag me all you want…but leave my kid out of it. He or she’s innocent and has no part in what Michiko and me have done!” 

“I’m not blaming the kid…I’m blaming you.” 

Mizurou was quick to his feet and nearly grabbed his squad mate by the collar of his shirt if not for Juuzou who stopped them by stepping in between, his face looking rather grim,

“Hey, both of you need to stop!” he spoke, eying them sullenly, “Nakari, this isn’t your issue to put your opinion into…I think it’s already clear enough that Tamaki knows what he’s done…But that being said he needs to think of what he needs to do.”

“Suzuya-san…”

Once the two men were separated, they all took a seat in silence. A long, chilling silence since they were all glancing towards Mizurou who had so many things he wanted to ask…but didn’t know how to start. This was his problem, that was true, but he needed some guidance of what to do, whom to listen to. Finally, Juuzou took a quick breath and spoke again,

“Tamaki…what is love?”

“What?”

“What is it to you?” He asked, getting up from his seat and approaching his underling, standing over him and for once, being the one to literally look down on him, “Is it something you see? How do you know you love someone if there’s no evidence?”

 _Love?_  
Love was many things to him, many things he couldn’t explain out straight…but he knew it was there because he felt it. When he saw Michiko, he saw love. He could feel love when she would passionately kiss him, the ways she touched him, the ways that she would comfort him as he did for her, her odd little snooty quirks and confident demands. But her strength as an individual, to keep going even when someone else hurt her…He recalled when she once told him a few months that she was scared about being a mother, she didn’t want to do the same things that her mother did on her, but he assured her that wouldn’t be the case because Michiko knew how to love and even on those days were she’d feel unsure of herself, he’d always be there for her.  
Right now, he already felt that he was going against his word.  
_I love her. I love her so much._

“Love…love is just something I feel. I’m not always certain of it myself…but I know it’s there! Going off a feeling is usually the biggest risk anyone can take with nothing to count as evidence…but I know that I didn’t make a mistake by asking her to marry me…and our child, well our child is our proof of our love, even if it wasn’t on purpose…it wasn’t made out of reckless play, it was made out of passion for each other. I think that evidence of love…isn’t something you can always see right away…” Getting up from his seat again, he went upstairs and fetched the broken solar mobile and held it up, “Like the universe! Miyuki, how large is the universe?”

“…No one knows…I like to believe it’s boundless, infinite!” 

“Exactly!”

“Love can’t be infinite…” Keijin retorted, “Surely there must be some limits.”

“When you find the right person Nakari…I don’t think there is.” Juuzou said, now glancing at Hanbee whom was trying not to tear up, “I think that what Tamaki was trying to say is that in love, you don’t always need a reason or a fact…you just need to believe in that feeling and fly off of it…I believe that too.”

“That’s exactly it! I know I must sound crazy right now…but I don’t know how else to explain it. That’s truly how I feel.”

“You do sound crazy! You made logic out of something illogical!” Miyuki said, referring to that of speaking in his own geek language, “maybe I need to give this love thing a try…”

Keijin didn’t have a comment to say back, maybe because he saw the reasoning and didn’t want to admit it that he had a new point. But now, Mizurou knew what he needed to do, he needed to use his feelings to communicate to her that he wasn’t going to give up on them, he was going to apologize and prove to her that he was man enough to know when he’s wrong.

“Thanks Suzuya-san…Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back my bride,” but before he left, he placed the broken contraption in his Miyuki’s hands, “Baby proof this would you?”

\--

It was snowing now, but it seemed to disappear just as soon as it hit the concrete jungle.  
Ui insisted on waiting for her but she assured him that she’d be okay and would find another way back; he probably had to finish that planning anyways. Stepping out of the car and up the sidewalk was Michiko’s realization that walking in her high heels was really uncomfortable, especially on days her feet decided to swell! But at least her feet looked good.  
Smoothing down her hair as she approached the Suzuya squad’s house, she sucked in her pride knowing full well that the rest of them got word on what had happened, and knocked on the door. But the one, who’d answered it of course, was not her partner.

“I’m assuming you’re looking for Mizurou…” Keijin sighed folding his arms,

“Um..Yeah.”

“Well tough luck, he’s not here.”

“What?!”

“He’s not!” Shouted Miyuki from the living room, carefully and steadily gluing something together that was out of her view, “He’s out looking for you!”

“Me?” He was out looking for her huh? Best chance is that he was heading towards the Villa! Well this was going to be turning into a goose chase if she didn’t get back there…and she already knew she wouldn’t at a fast pace, “OH um…Thank you!” 

“Wait- did you walk here?” Hanbee asked, looking down at her shoes, “In…those?”

“No…But-” she should’ve asked Ui to wait, damn it!

“Please, Ms. Ayase, let me drive you back. I’m sure we’ll be able to catch him!” The tall man said already reaching for the keys. 

“And get out of those,” Juuzou said to her feet, soon slipping off his own red slippers and offering them to her, “You should be comfortable!”

“Thank you…” She bowed a little, replacing her glittery red heels for soft red slippers. At least now she was able to understand why Mizurou was so persistent in wanting her to move here…they were nice boys. 

Quickly, the entire Suzuya squad and Michiko all climbed into their mini van to chase down Mizurou.

\--

“She’s gone?” Mizurou panicked at their doorstep; “Where? How long ago?!”

“You just missed her. But where do you think she went?” Shoko asked sarcastically, “She left to see you! She’s probably at your place by now!”

“Shit…” Now what was he going to do? Easy answer, he was going to go back and find her! Turning himself he was already making his way down the steps when he saw a vehicle pull up to the side of the road and never had he been so relieved when he saw her in there.  
Rushing down, he helped her out of the car and immediately her arms were around him and her face in his chest. Gently, he returned her affection and hugged her back, mouthing thank you to his squad who were giving him a thumbs up. 

“I’m so sorry…” her voice muffled a bit by her sobs, “I didn-“

“Shh…It’s okay, Michi. I’m sorry too.”

Everyone went inside as now the snow was starting to pick up and the air was starting to get a harsh bite to it. For now, the young couple went up to her room one last time to talk alone, to express their feelings and concerns in a way that they could both respect.

“I should have communicated better with you…I assumed instead of taking the time to get your answer…I also shouldn’t have said those things about your friends…” He sighed, sitting beside her on her bed with her hand in his. But Michiko just shook her head,

“No…You were just looking out for me and the baby…I really shouldn’t have lost my temper over that and besides, you were honest with me…I appreciate that too.”  
He didn’t mistrust all of them, actually most of them were quite sweet and it was clear that they were still human. Marie, Shoko, Yoko, Brooke…was iffy…but his main concern was the one who actually was seen eating a ghoul…because if she had guts to do that, would she eat her own friends too? Was she no longer a human?

“…” He didn’t say much else; instead he pulled her close to him, one hand around her and the other on her tummy. Then, slipping off the bed he knelt down so that he was level with the bump and spoke to it as if it could hear him, “I’m sorry to you too. You’ll never have to worry, Little Bean…daddy isn’t going to leave you or mommy because he loves you both so much. He’s going to get through every battle he’s faced with, he’s going to make sure you’re safe and that you’ll have nothing to fear…Ghouls or monsters under the bed.” Leaning a bit he kissed it making Michiko laugh,

“You think he or she caught all that?”

“I know they did.”

“How?” she smiled as he stood up again, looking at her with watery eyes, 

“Because…I just have a feeling.” And with that, he placed a soft kiss on her lips, some of her light lip gloss being left on his own. Yes, he didn’t want to loose this, none of this.

“But you know, Mizurou…” she whispered when their lips were faintly apart, “I want to move in with you…your squad, they’re sweetest and I think…the baby would be in good hands there.”

“You really want to?” 

“Yes…” She giggled; kissing his lower lip that he couldn’t help eek out a soft moan. But he stopped remembering that the door was open…and just noticing now that Juuzou was standing there with her sparkly heels in hand.

“Just here to return these…” He said, trying to pretend he didn’t see anything, “Sorry should I close the door?”

“No, we’ll be down in just a second…” Michiko said, slipping out of his slippers to hand them back, but Juuzou said she could keep them; he had another pair at home. Once he was gone, Mizurou assumed they were going to follow if not for his fiancée pulling him back down on the bed and attacking him with kisses all over his face!

“M-Michi! T-The door!” He chuckled, trying to escape her grasp, “someone will see us!”

“We won’t be long! Come on, let’s see if we can do it in 5 minutes!” She said, attaching herself to his neck like a leech, but he had to protest!

“Michi…” though it came out more like a long groan, “Michi!”

“Fine…” She sighed pulling away cheekily, “fine fine…”

Even with her make up smudged, her hair fluffy, and her feet 2 times bigger…he still thought she was an angel, a goddess.


	22. Good Day Sunshine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha I used to worry my chapters were too short, but now I worry that they're too long. ;u;
> 
> Oh well, I hope you all enjoy this week's chapter! <33

“Come on, Koori, we’re going to be late…” Hairu called to her boyfriend who was still fixing his hair in the bathroom, making sure every hair was down and perfect; he didn’t want one single flyaway, “Even I’m ready before you…”

“I’d rather be late and presentable.” He said, stroking down the back of his head,

“You wouldn’t say that if it was for work.”

“Yeah well work is different…I move much quicker knowing that I’m serving for justice…not sitting through a ceremony.”

“Hey, don’t be salty about it…” The pinkette sighed and wrapped her arms around him from behind, “You know it means a lot to Michiko and Mizurou that everyone’s coming.”

He knew that well, his squad member had been very excited about this event; it was a milestone after all. Ui just had a hard time swallowing the fact that Koharu wasn’t there to see or to control her unruly squad. Their table manners were probably unfit to be going to such an occasion; but that was only a guess.  
One thing he was certain of was that Hairu was beautiful in her dress. It was light blue, a colour that looked stunning on her. Caressing one of her hands with his, he forced a smile on his face,

“Yeah...” _because that’ll be us one day too you know; I’ll make sure of it_ , “Hey Hairu…are you sure you’re okay though?”

“I’m bloated…” she sighed putting a hand to her extended stomach,

“No I mean…you look pale-“

“Oh, it’s time to get going!” Hairu cut him short and started to tug on his suit, “Come on!”

Ui had been noticing that his girlfriend had been acting strange the past little while…he’d hear her crying at night and during the day at the CCG, she’d vanish for a hour or two…but he always assumed that it was just pregnancy protocol. Hormones. He trusted that she would be honest and foreword with him if it was something more. 

\--

“If you sweat anymore you’ll leave stains in your shirt.” Keijin said to Mizurou who was standing at the front of the church, knees weak and tie wonky, “You okay?”

“Do I look okay? I’m about to get married-“

“Yeah and?”

“What if I mess up?”

“Then so you do.” Keijin said putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “But all the more memories.”

“You’re no help.”

“I’m only here to wish you well and that…I’m happy for you.” Words like that didn’t come from him easily, especially when they were sincere, and Mizurou certainly took them to heart. He always thought Keijin was sour about his relationship but…maybe he was just looking out for him in his own weird way. _Thanks, old friend._

Soon, two of the bride’s maids, Marie Kitami and Yoko Souzu, came inside as the church was starting to fill as people started to gather. They were wearing long, mint green dresses with some white flowers intertwined into their hair. But the closer they walked up the isle to check on the groom, Marie was quick to adjust all of Mizurou’s little flaws by patting down his hair and fixing his bow tie.

“If you think someone wouldn’t see this you’re crazy…” she said pulling on the bow and straightening it again, pulling on the ends to make sure it was tight, “Michiko deserves perfection on her wedding day.”

“Yeah she does…is she okay?”

“Yup, she’s doing _A-OK._ You’re one lucky guy, she thinks the world of you!” The blonde girl chirped and slowly backing away, amused with her handiwork. 

“Yeah! She’s just as nervous as you!” Yoko said, “But that’s a good thing…! Right Marie-senpai?”

“Of course it is. If they were casual about this, I’d be worried.”

Keijin nodded in agreement and so did the rest of the Suzuya Squad, all standing behind him and Mizurou couldn’t help but smile; though a little weakly. He would forever be grateful for all their help and support, from both sides of this marriage. Looking into the groups that were starting to come into the church, the familiar faces of family and friends, he spotted his parents taking a seat in the front row, some coworkers that he knew well and some he didn’t, but it didn’t matter as long as they were here for this single purpose. 

“Break a leg!” Marie tapped his shoulder before she and the other female investigator left to head to the back room to assure that the bride was ready.  
Soon, everyone in the church was seated, all the groom’s men and bride’s maids in their assured positions, and the music started to fade in his mind as his attention fell upon a beautiful goddess as she walked up the isle, a veil hiding her face, a beautiful bouquet- most likely arranged by Carma - and a white dress that displayed her finest features to a tea.

Mizurou Tamaki lost his breath when Michiko Ayase reached him at the end of her walk. No way that he was this blessed, that he was this fortunate, to have her.  
Taking her hands in his, they exchanged their words with honesty and purity, he spoke without any paper to reference – and he did end up stuttering on a couple words – but he was so focused on her that it was if he forgot to speak. The moment that this all finally clicked in, that this was real, was when he slipped the ring onto her finger and she did to him. Then lifting the veil, steadily as he tried and was able to lay eyes on that enchanting face of hers, those green eyes and pale completion that could rival any porcine doll. Pulling her close and kissing her, that was just the brink of what were his hopes and dreams, that was just the proof of their dedication for one another. 

Sure he could hear the crowd clapping for them and a few whistles coming from both of their squad’s, but to him nothing screamed joy like his heart as it beat a million miles a second. 

\--

The after party wasn’t a big venue, but it was perfect for what they needed. It was cleanly set up and decorated to perfect for what Michiko had in mind. Everything from the way that the tables were set up, to the décor, the flowers, the music, even the cake was beautiful…Juuzou made a homemade cake-topper that looked more-or-less accurate to the bride and groom. 

At one of the tables, the closet to the front, Michiko’s bride’s maids all sat on her side whilst the Suzuya squad sat on Mizurou’s. As drinks started be poured into glasses, the satisfying sound of Champaign bottles popping sure made Michiko envious of her friends being able to drink but her apple juice was fine, Mizurou wasn’t much for alcohol himself and had a virgin beverage with her, making sure to ‘ _cheers’_ her glass.

As for the Beta-Quinx squad, Carma swirled her drink in her glass creating a small swirling spiral in the center, gazing into it solemnly.

“You…going to drink that?” Brooke asked, placing down her already empty glass, she drank it like water! “I can take it off your hands, you’ve never been into drinks have you?”

The pinkette shoved it towards her friend, glancing over at Michiko whom was laughing with her now husband.

“Brooke slow down! You’re being rude...” Shoko said taking the wine glass away, “You’ll be wasted before our speech!”

“No I won’t! I can handle my alcohol, now gimme that,” the brunette said swiping it back, sloshing some onto her dress and ultimately leaving a stain on the center part of her dress, “Shit, that was two sips worth!”

“Karma’s a bitch- Oh umm…Not you Carma I mean-“ Shoko said quickly, forgetting that the quiet investigator was sitting next to her,

“None taken…”

To be honest, they were all hoping that dinner would be quick so that they could get their speech over before Brooke embarrassed them more then usual…or before anything else happened; not to knock on wood.  
Finishing her second glass, Brooke was already calling for Tanakamaru to bring over another bottle for the table and as soon as dinner finished Hanbee rose from his seat and started to tap on his glass to catch everyone’s attention, 

“Hello? Hello everyone? May I have a moment of your time please?” It took a few taps to get all of the rowdy tables to quiet down to hear what he had to say, or rather, what they all wanted to say, “Since we have everyone here, I think this would be a good time for us to all congratulate this happy couple whom are not just part of the CCG, but are now both part of our family as one.”

Next, Miyuki stood up and cleared his throat to keep the silence of other voices,

“They say the stars align for a reason, that fate isn’t just tragedy or joy, individuals all have their one special person…the hardest part is finding them in a world of seven billion. Well personally I don’t know what was going through Tamaki’s head the day he saw her, but I saw a flash, a spark, a super nova!”  
Keijin rolled his eyes and in fixing the cuff of his shirt stood up next, first glancing at all the guests then at his squad mates, who all looked eager to what he had to say,

“You know, I’ve known Tamaki for a long time now…and I think it’s fair to say that he’s a good guy. I still remember the day that he first saw her when the Quinx squads were introduced and he asked me, ‘if I knew who that girl was,’ obviously I didn’t and said that ‘he should go talk to her himself.’” He paused for a moment to look at Mizurou lowering his head and Michiko chuckling, maybe he should have a little fun with this speech, “he said that a pretty girl like her was probably already taken…but he always seemed to sneak a glance her way to see if she’d take a glance back. I’ll admit I thought he was just going through a school-boy crush phase but…He never seemed to give up on her in his mind. Hey, Tamaki might act tough but he’s all talk, he didn’t have the guts to approach her right away until he found a way around it by offering to go out for a coffee…after the fact that he gave his pants away…Now when he returned that day, he couldn’t stop smiling…I think that’s when his confidence really took off. ‘ _Where are you going Tamaki?’_  
He’d say, ‘ _to see Michiko._ ’  
‘ _But isn’t that new figure coming out today?’_  
‘ _Yeah but it’s not important._ ’  
Speaking for my fellow squad members I think that’s a safe bet that she was his world. But I won’t lie to you, I was a bit upset to see that one of my…friends spending his time with someone else…But like Mikage said, a super nova occurred and fate let your stars align in more ways then one and…after getting to see how happy he is, and how happy Michiko makes our squad, I was willing to accept you as one of us. Thank you.” He smiled towards her and gave a nod; she did so in return. Taking a seat again, the room was surprisingly silent, maybe because they didn’t expect to forwardness or perhaps because that brutal honesty was reassuring. Breaking the silence, Juuzou stood up as well, a bit of frosting on his cheek – he must’ve snuck some cake! 

“Welcome to our family Michiko!”

“Thanks you guys!” she said from her seat, rubbing her husband’s back to comfort him after those stories that were shared – but really he should’ve seen it coming, “I’m glad to be apart of this family too and you know, if I was to go back 5 years…I never would have imagined this kind of love, and compassion from everyone. Nothing comes easy, promotions, quinques, teamwork, friendship, and especially love. But when we found it…we were determined to keep it! We’d work for it because at the end of the day…it’s having one another that matters most,” and through the clapping of the attendants of the party, Michiko glanced over at Shoko who gave her a wink, “Cheers, everyone! Thanks for coming!”

“Now hold on!” Marie said rising from her seat, Yoko in toll, “You didn’t think the Suzuya Squad was going to take all the glory did you? We’ve got a little speech of our own-!” and as the current beta-squad leader, Marie took the initiative to rise from her seat first…only to realize there was an empty seat at their table, “Uh…Where’s Brooke?!”

“The bathroom.” Carma said, sluggishly leaning over the table,

“Damn it, I warned her not to drink all of it!” Shoko groaned, “It went right through her!”

Well this put things off in a way that Michiko was praying wouldn’t happen, but she should have known better too– that was her squad after all.

“Never mind, we’ll try again later…” Marie said, motioning for the group to sit; if they all wouldn’t speak then none of them would. Luckily though, the blonde was quick to improvise for their sake, “Um, why doesn’t the happy couple lead the first dance?”

 

With the music starting to play and everyone shifting themselves as to set up the floor and create room for everyone to be able to mingle and dance, for a moment, the room fell silent as they all began to witness another beautiful union of Mizurou and Michiko. 

“Did I miss anything?” A still sober Brooke asked, hustling over to her group with a wine bottle in her hands. But even she went quiet as she watched the bride and groom come together for their solo dance as husband and wife.

First, he took her by her hands, her soft, elegant, hands and gently pulled her close to him and for a second she felt herself falling in love with him all over again. Soon, their bodies were swaying and stepping together in unison with their eyes locked on each other; he was so handsome in his tux! Smiling, he leaned down a little so he could whisper into her ear,

“You’re so light on your feet,”

“Hardly, certainly not like this.”

“No, you are...” He said contently, pulling her a little closer so that her head was resting on his chest, “I know it’s cliché but…I am the happiest guy alive…I feel like I have everything I need right here in my arms.”

“So do I…” she giggled, nudging him a little. But she really did feel the same way…she didn’t care about her imitate family whom didn’t even bother to show up today despite her sending them an invite. They obviously didn’t care enough about her so why should she put effort in either?

She had Mizurou,

She’d soon have her baby,

She had all her friends that were with her that night, physically and in memory. For a girl who liked trinkets and pretty things, lip gloss and heels, she’d trade them all if she could keep this feeling forever. 

Pretty soon, other couples started to join in on the slow dance, some naturally, some hesitantly, all with one set of mind. 

 

“Oh look Brooke, I think someone wants a dance.” Shoko teased the brunette as Touma Higemaru started to make his way over to the small group; a mix of shyness and confidence over his face and posture. Grumbling, Brooke tried her best to hide in place but her friends made sure she was exposed, Marie even pushed her foreword, so much that she fell into Hige’s arms!

“Hey! Why I-” the brunette quickly removed herself from his grasp, her face blushing – or maybe that was the alcohol kicking in. Most likely it was both. Still, he didn’t back down from this mission and sucked in his breath so he could attempt puffing his chest a little; though it did him no justice,

“Brooke, do you want to dance with me?”

“Uhhh…no.”

“Brooke! You never say that to someone who offers a dance! It takes lots of confidence for them to do that!” Shoko said, also shoving her friend closer to Hige inch by inch, “Now you’re the one who has to man up!”

“Alright alright! Just stop pushing me!” The brunette barked, pushing her glasses up her face and glaring at Higemaru who indeed was looking disheartened by her first response…but she’d said things like this to him all the time and he never gave a hoot about it. Why now? Well if what Shoko said was true and it took every cell in his body to rise up the courage then she should at least praise him that much! Holding out her hand for him to take, in a less then _lady-like fashion_ , she found herself lost in how to respond back.

“Fine, you can have one dance…okay?”

“So you are human?” he joked, taking her hand in a _less-gentlemanly_ way, “Well if I only get one I guess I’ll have to make it good!”

“Yeah…well…whatever. Just don’t step on my feet!”

“You kidding? You’ll be stepping on mine!”

“Shut up Hige!”

 

“Oh come on, Koori! Let’s join in!” Hairu said, yanking on her boyfriend’s arm. Clearly she wasn’t going to miss out on all the fun,

“Are you okay to dance?”

“Of course I am! Now stand up! Come on! Move!”

“Hairu…” He grumbled, though he was smiling as she forced him out of his comfort level. But more so because he was still happy she would pick him to dance over Arima.

 

“Let’s try it too Hanbee!”

“Wha!”

“Yeah! It looks nice. I’ve never slow danced before though.” Juuzou’s words were usually seen as wisdom, something graved in stone, to his squad. But Hanbee always had wanted to hear something like this from his superior - his crush. Taking a light bow, he offered his assistance,

“Then, let me teach you.”

 

Saiko, despite still getting over the loss of Shirazu and now dealing with a missing team mate, was still willing to get up and show her stuff with Hsaio who’d offered to be her shoulder during these harder times, her own rock, for as long as she needed it. As for Urie, he couldn’t bring himself to dance with anyone; even if Matsuri did request one song, he declined. He wouldn’t dance if it wasn’t with Mutsuki.

 

But even Higemaru seemed to have a better chance at a dance then some other love-struck young man whom was looking for an opening to Marie. Yusa Arima stood back with Rikai Souzu and Shio Ihei who were trying their best to try and urge him foreword and ask her already!

“Come on, before the song ends!”

“You never know when you’ll get another chance like this.”

Back and fourth back and fourth. He appreciated their support, even if it bothered him at times, but this was just – she probably wouldn’t want to dance with him.

“Guys…I can do it alone.”

“Can you really?” Shio asked, wiggling his eyebrows, “I bet you’re going to get a glass of water and not come back.”

“She’s in the clear,” Rikai added, “Don’t assume she won’t say yes until you ask…she might want to.”

But the young Arima just stood back, hesitant and weak kneed. If she was beautiful on a daily basis then she was stunning tonight. Did he…would he ever deserve such a rainbow? A sunshine? _No...he wouldn't._  
There would be other opportunities, he thought to himself, at least until he spotted Keijin and Miyuki making their way over to the Beta-Quinxs. At first he assumed they were going after the Souzu sister’s…but as soon as he saw them approach the beautiful blonde he nearly yelped.

“Ah, Ms Kitami?”

“Wha? Oh me?” Marie spun around to see two of the Suzuya Sqaud members standing behind her, one aloof and one interested, “Oh! Hi’ya! You know I’m okay with people using my first name now right?”

“I know that this may be coming off as something direct but…what is a bright star such as yourself doing without a dance partner? I would like to take that part if you’d let me.”

“You want to dance with me?”

“Hey! That’s not how you ask a woman to dance!” The blonde man said, pushing his friend to the side and strutting foreword, “You don’t bring in that nonsense…direct my ass…you say what you want and get to the point! Like this,” Though while his intensions might have seemed like he was playing cool, his face gave off a more scary and disturbed look as he reached out his hand, “Shall I have this dance?”

“Uhh!”

“But I’m the one who wanted to ask her!” Miyuki said pushing his way through again, towering over her! “Please, the moonlight does glow and has led me to you!”  
“Bullshit, Miyuki do you really think that’s a way to her heart!?”

With the arguing and bickering, poor Marie didn’t know what to do, should she say something or what? Shoko just rolled her eyes and Carma left the room completely, probably heading to the bathroom.

But this little quarrel was only adding fuel to Yusa’s fire. No way that he was going to let either of them dance with Marie; they weren’t good enough for her! Fixing his tie, Yusa stomped right across the dance floor, leaving Rikai and Shio to high five each other and eagerly watch how this would play out.

“Marie!” the young Arima called once he was close enough for her to hear him over the music, “Do you-“ but strangely, as soon as he got there and she was staring at him with that curious, cheery, stargazed expression of hers, he instantly felt himself stutter and struggle to finish his sentence, “Would you….would you…”

“Yusa?”

“Hey! No man is going to dance with her!” Yoko said, grasping onto one of Marie’s arms, her freckled cheeks puffing out that made her look something like a hamster, “I’m going to dance with Marie-senpai!”

“I believe I called it first.” Miyuki retorted,

“Yes but who’d want to dance with a daydreamer who wouldn’t pay attention to her? I say I dance with her and show her what grace is.” Keijin said, inching himself a little closer to Marie who was starting to look a little uncomfortable with all of this.

“No! She’s my senpai! My mentor! She get’s to teach me how to dance!” Yoko said, pushing the two men away from them. The only one who didn’t say anything was Yusa and despite staying silent, and invisible like, Marie seemed to notice him over everyone else. Removing herself from the other three, the blonde girl approached Yusa with a bit of a skip in her step hoping he’d lift his head to look at her instead of his feet,

“Wanna dance with me, Yusa?”

Least to say he really didn’t expect that she’d be the one to ask him, especially with other options being thrown her way… _but she wanted to dance with him._ Gulping, he nodded, seeing this as more of a test of strength then any test or operation he’d even been on. Leaving them all behind to find an open spot on the dance floor, the boy had no idea where to start; he’d never been to a dance before! Nothing like this!

“Here,” Marie said, reaching out for his hands and placing them on her hips, his heart started to race and blood rushed up to his ears,

_Oh my god._

“And I put my hands…here!” his spine went dead straight as soon as she touched him on his shoulders. But what was he to do next? He felt ashamed of not knowing, seeing that everyone else had their rhythm figured out…but the garden didn’t offer dance lessons.

“M-Marie…” he uttered, “I-“

“Okay one thing,” She added, pulling him a little closer to her, “You’re too far out…we’d look odd dancing like that!” 

If she only knew the emotions going through his system…but one thing he never noticed about her before, now that he was this close, was how good she smelt. Whatever fragrance she used…it seemed to calm him, sooth him in a different kind of way and along with being held…it made him feel like he was almost being hugged. He’d never been genuinely hugged before. But they couldn’t just stand there; they had to dance at least a little bit. He glanced at a couple next to them and watched their movements and quickly, he was able to mirror them. At least his battle senses were good for something. 

 

“Well Mikage and Nakari were in for a let down huh?” Shio gazed proudly at what this little inconvenience had produced, their friend was happily dancing with the girl of his dreams, “Look at him, doesn’t he look happy?”

“He looks nervous.” Rikai snickered under her breath, “Well I guess we’re the last one’s standing…Looks like the Suzuya Squad all found someone to mingle with now…wow, Yoko sure looks pissed off with Miyuki…they don’t even look like their dancing…” Maybe because she was puny compared to him.

“Who says we’re the last ones?!” Shio laughed, pulling his purple haired friend into the group, “Come on, Let me have this dance!”

 

“I’m surprised you know how to dance…” Brooke said under her breath, but she wanted to him hear it, “I always thought you’d be tripping over yourself…maybe that’s just what you do in operations then.”

“Hey I’m a good fighter…I just…” This time Higemaru was certain that she was just teasing him, because unlike many other occurrence, she was smiling in a cheeky way as if she was glad to see a reaction out of him. Many days he had to question what drew him towards her…she was mean, narcissistic, strong, and self-assured…but she wasn’t afraid of anything, a brave soul. But she also poked his curiosity because she wasn’t as open as she said she was, there were many things he still wanted to know about her, like was she afraid of anything? 

One thing he figured out quickly is that she couldn’t dance, she didn’t know where to put her hands and she was looking at her feet for most of the song instead of him. He also heard her swear whenever she messed up her footing; she was kind of cute when she was embarrassed. 

But eventually, once she found herself in a consistent rhythm, she managed to lift her head to gaze up at him…he never knew her eyes were that shade of blue. Soon, once the music was reaching it’s ending point; it was if by gravity that he could feel his face slowly, but surly close in towards hers. This was dangerous territory; he was so close that he could smell the alcohol on her breath. But then instead of her lips, he was greeted with a burp from her instead. But she didn’t laugh about it; in fact she covered her mouth looking at him in disbelief of what she just did!

“Umm…Whoops?” though he expected something to happen, not once would he have guessed that Brooke would be the one to be ashamed of it! The pink haired man soon fell into a faze of laughter, struggling to find room for words or air! He looked like a clapping seal and that was enough to make her laugh along with him! With their obnoxious hilarity, it was hard not to spot them even in the large crowd though no one else knew what was going on that made them act in such a way.  
“Aw man, I really thought for a moment there we would have made it!” Higemaru said, catching his breath, “we were so close!”  
“Yeah…that was weird I can usually force burp but that one just slipped out! I’m telling you any drink with bubbles…!” 

 

This was indeed a night of romance, of joy, and of course a reminder that while their lives did consist of constant worry and alert, there was also reasons to live in the moment and embrace one another in the joyous occasions.  
But death would always be waiting on their doorsteps; danger was part of nature and all the more reason to always be alert and prepared for the best, the worst, and everything in-between. 

\--

If Koharu couldn’t go back to the CCG, she wouldn’t have access to any news or current events going on in it’s walls and getting in touch with her squad would be even more of a challenge; meaning that Masaya would also be in the waiting line to reunite with Carma. But the ghoul world had it’s ways of getting their own insider news, she was starting to realize that first hand once Yomo insisted that they go and visit a friend of his who worked in a more-or-less hidden bar called, Helter Skelter.

“This must be the place,” Masaya said, as he nudged the door slightly, “we followed Mr. Yomo’s directions correctly.”

“Is it even open?” Ryoichi asked, trying to get a glance from behind his two friends. He wasn’t supposed to go along with them of course, but he was just as curious to find out what the CCG was doing especially after Ayato recently informed Touka that Hinami Fueguchi had been taken. Ryo didn’t hear many details; he was trying his best to avoid making eye contact from anyone from Aogiri…But he was starting to realize that it was impossible to hide from the world no matter how hard he tried. By the sounds of things, this Hinami was a pretty important person and knowing Touka she was going to pull something out of her sleeve to help. She’d performed that magic trick more then once already,

As the three walked inside, they were immediately greeted by a woman behind the counter of the surprisingly small, darkish room, they almost missed the only other person sitting at the counter, sipping on a glass of a red liquid; Uta.

“Ah, you must be Masaya and Koharu, Yomo said you’d be stopping by tonight! I’m Itori…Come in and have a seat, should I pour you something?” The lady chortled as she reached up onto one of her shelves to retrieve a bottle of blood, “Shall you take the seven year vintage?”

“No thank you.” Koharu said as she wanted to stay sober enough to understand the information that would hopefully be shared with her.

“Aw, how about you, tough guy?” She motioned to Masaya who’s taken a seat at one of the stools next to Uta, removing his hat and grimacing at the bottle,

“I umm…”

“I can put it in a mug if it’ll make it more manly to your assumed tastes.”

“Yeah- I mean, yes…please.” 

Koharu eyed the bottle as Itori poured the aged blood into a beer mug and shuffled it to Masaya who looked suspicious of it at first before taking a sip. The girl would never be able to accept her new form…not in the ways that he seems to have.

“You must be Ryoichi Takeo!” The barista pointed to the red head, “I’m sorry I didn’t even see you! Wow, you’re just as Yomo said you were…Well do you want anything?”

“No thanks-“

“I’m sorry but,” While all this drinking talk was casual as it could get, they had more important matters to get to, “We’re here for a different discussion…I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.” 

For a moment the room went quiet, except for the clinking of Masaya and Uta’s glasses as they hit the table after having a sip. Itori looking rather curious and almost playful towards Koharu’s forwardness, 

“My, you are direct aren’t you?”

“Time isn’t something gifted to me. I need to know about what’s going on in the CCG, is there another operation underway? Yomo told us that if anyone in the ghoul world would know…it’s you.”

The ghoul behind the counter laughed at the comment, maybe she was so serious she wasn’t being taken that way. But this insider must know at least something,

“That’s what he thinks huh? Well dearie he’s not wrong. You see this little place of mine provides for humans and ghouls, just like Touka’s coffee shop. Although humans are more of a rarity here, but I do get lots of other ghouls and friends with secrets of their own that my ears have heard day after day. I can provide you with some information, yes, but are you willing to listen to it?”

“You suspect I wouldn’t?”

“Well if you don’t want to pay for information with money, pay with reasoning.” 

Was this a joke? Honestly this woman was more unpredictable then most she’d worked with in the office! Why would Yomo recommend her?

“Look,” Masaya said, tossing his empty mug across the table and his cheeks starting to tint, “If time isn’t a reason enough…is love? To find the CCG…I find love…and Koharu finds friends and Ryo-”

“Love? That’s funny…” The ghoul narrowed her eyes towards Koharu, though she was smiling, “you were a dove too, right?”

Was…not many get to say that, they never live long enough. But she wasn’t an investigator anymore, not like this. But Koharu had to bite her lips to keep from saying anything else; if she was to slip up she may be out of line and never get that information. This ghoul was testing her, seeing if she was worth it; information was priceless after all.

“I know that I may not seem like a trustworthy to share and tell, honestly I don’t blame you. One time a human and the next a ghoul…who knows if I could turn against you and report you by chance? But I assure you that won’t be the case. I don’t want the CCG’s information to put bullets in your heads; I want it because there are people there that I’m friends with, they’re my family! I need to get in touch with them again…but I’ll be going in on my life.”

She made sure she was sitting up straight and keeping her features stern, just as she was raised to at home. Was that believable enough? Would this give her the information she needed?

Koori.

Hairu.

Marie.

Brooke.

Carma.

Michiko.

All of them…she needed to see them again. But she had to know the situation in order to do so; she had to play the Russian roulette.  
Itori tapped her chin, scanning the former investigator with caution and that same curious look that a cat would give before It pounced onto it’s pray; haunting yet understandable. 

“Hmm…information is easy to hear, hard to restrain. But I’m sure in your former line of work you’re already aware of that…Well, a friend of mine did stop by a few days ago with news of a raid coming up.”

“A raid? Where?”

Itori’s smile grew as she leaned over to reach the bottle of blood, pouring the rest into Masaya’s mug, 

“Depends…Can you swim well?”


	23. The Great Pretender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this week's chapter everyone! <33 Thank you!

“How do I get in there?” Hideyori pondered from within a small, thick-forested area just outside of the perimeters of the Cochlea prison. Analyzing and considering her options of a way to get into without being caught…she new already that was going to be impossible with the way the place was secured…her only chance was through a back entrance…and if she could find an open time when no one was close by she’d run in. 

_She just needed to get Eto back._

Even if she’d never risk her life for Hideyori, the bluenette wasn’t the same when it came to destroying lives by the swipe of her hand. No.  
Lowering herself into the thicket, she kept watch of the door, her eyes watching…almost glowing. 

\--

They had a lot of ground to cover and Koharu was thankful that she was able to get more hands on deck to help her. But not only that, Touka had a mission to get back another ghoul who’d been imprisoned in Cochlea…a place not even Koharu liked visiting when she was permitted, however while there she said she’d keep a look out for those investigators and try to reason…if she could.

Koharu’s team consisted of an odd bunch,  
 _Masaya,  
Karren,   
Shuu,  
Amon,   
and Ryoichi_ whom insisted on coming to act as a lookout for the lot. But this would be good as they could scavenge this island in two groups!

“I want you all back alive! You hear me!?” Karren shouted at Touka and her group who were all starting to fade into the city that night. They didn’t call back but they assumed that Touka was thinking the same way.

“You’re going to come back too, right?” Auralee said as she clung onto Masaya, “right?!”

“Of course he will…” Kennedy responded, though looking worrisome towards the remaining ghouls, “Uncle Shuu and Auntie Karren will be there so…They have a chance.”

“I trust that you kiddo’s can watch the shop for us while we’re away.” Masaya said, retrieving his hat from the boy’s hands and placing it on his head, “But don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Koharu says she has a plan.”

That was lie; Koharu didn’t have a plan at all! She didn’t know what they were going to expect except the unexpected. Until they reached the island…it would all be assumption. 

 

Getting to Rushima Island, according to Itori was the place that was to be the next battleground for the CCG and Aogiri. The CCG had been fighting the ghoulish gang for years without ever making large dents, Ui had told her the horror stories of the many battles he’d been apart of involving them, the casualty numbers were often formidable.   
What would the outcome be this time? What would she do if she managed to find her squad? Her brother? Poor Koharu didn’t know any of those answers…what she did know is that she would just have to trust her first instincts and try to play on reason…best she could.  
Getting to the island was more difficult then she first would have guested, but at least they wouldn’t have to swim. Masaya was able to scavenge around the docks and managed to find an abandoned rowboat that was lying against a shed waiting to rot. The wood had certainly begun to mold a little bit but at least it was still able to float without leaking! 

“Not rowing the boat, _Ryo_?” Karren teased eyeing Koharu at the same time, "how does it go? _Ryo ryo ryo_ your boat gently down the stream.”

“Stop it! That’s not even how you pronounce my name!” the red head said, cowering and sulking over, handing the paddles to Masaya and Amon. Luckily for him though, Koharu didn’t find the joke amusing either, “You’ve been quiet.” Ryo whispered to the raven-haired girl, his purple orbs staring into her chocolate brown one’s with concern, though she understands why. She hadn’t really spoken to him much that morning, to anyone for that matter, but she didn’t have anything to say that they would want to hear. Shaking her head she turned away from him and looked out to the water where the silhouette of the island was just staring to peek through the thin overlay of fog. 

“I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Keine Scheiße…” Karren scoffed from the other side of the small rowboat, “So you said that your brother’s also a dove, right? Say you do come in contact with him…do you think he’d try to kill you even if he knew it was you?” The purplette’s words made Koharu shiver all the way from her toes to her face, what if he did try to kill her? Honestly she’d already figured that might be the case; for all of them and not just her brother! They thought she was dead so to think that a ghoul was impersonating her would give them all the more reason to go against her. After all she’d do the same if she was in their shoes,

“I guess I’ll have to work around it…it won’t be easy since he’s so bullheaded…but I’d rather die trying then not trying at all.”

“You have a bit of mule yourself, it seems,” Shuu remarked, scooching himself a little closer to Karren with a grin, “A family trait?”

“Yeah…you could say that.”

 **Ridged** …that’s a family trait she’d use. Oh yeah, how would her parent’s react to her now? She’d assume they’d disown her – no - they already did that. But that wasn’t her biggest problem right now and pushing those cold thoughts aside she looked towards the ghouls in the boat – she had some type of a plan that they might be able to perform…Gosh, with the five of them all there together it felt like she was leading her squad again. But the closer and closer they reached the island…it was clear that the battle had already begun. 

“Alright…when we get there we’re going to divide and concur. I don’t know if any of them will be there when we arrive but at least this way we’ll have a better chance of finding them. Amon, Ryo, and Masaya, you’ll be with me, we’re going to find my squad,” Then glancing at the couple across from her, she gave them their assignment, “Karren and Shuu, I’ll leave you with finding my brother.”

“Ernst…?! We don’t even know what he looks like?!” Karren barked but Koharu assured her they wouldn’t have any trouble,

“Just look for a guy with a bowl cut and a girly face…you can’t miss him.”

\--

For the CCG, this was no longer just another fight against Aogiri, this time their enemy had seemingly had some unexpected back up and certainly weren’t too intimidated by them; but the investigator’s wouldn’t be any different; they knew this coming in and were ready to give it their all. However…Koori Ui had failed to keep a tight grip onto Carma’s leash as she’d already separated from the group just a few days in and most likely was heading on a rampage inside the depths of the base. That’s what Brooke had told him in assumption. To retrieve her, Ui sent out Marie and Brooke trusting that they could reason with her whilst fight for themselves.   
The Souzu sister’s stayed with him, proving that their training had certainly been making a miraculous improvement on their skills and insight on predicting movements. But he already knew that garden investigators seemed to have the amazing ability…just like Hairu.

_Hairu…_

Ui had been so hesitant to leave her in such a delicate way for this long, she was ready to give birth any day now and here he was risking his own life. But all the more reason to fight and to live so that he would be able to meet his child…the one that Koharu so much would have wanted to meet too. But he should have knocked on wood.   
Still, he was on a mission, he couldn’t let sentimental thoughts distract him!

“Shoko! Hold back with me! Yoko, get out a bit you-!” But even before he had the chance to finish his sentence, he spotted something coming out form the corner of his eye and naturally took a stance to protect himself on the impact of the Koukaku that nearly took his own head off! 

“Sir!” Shoko called after him, heading back in his direction to help only to be blocked by another kagune from a female ghoul that seemed to just come out no where! Luckily for Shoko, she was also able to defend herself just long enough for Yoko to assist her. As for Ui, he battling one on one with a ghoul that he could recognize from files of the last mission…the predecessor of the Tsukiyama estate, Shuu Tsukiyama.

“Monsieur, I believe that you should really put down your weapon there I’d like to speak with you about something.”

This ghoul wanted to speak with him? No fucking way.

Ui was just able to push him back enough for there to be some space between the two men, though only long enough for them to catch their breath before they were clashing once again. But the girls were still occupied with the female ghoul that he assumed was with this Tsukiyama, so Ui would have to finish him off on his own. He could do that, not easily, but he could. 

 

“Are you with that man?” Karren asked as the smaller investigator nearly caught her under her feet, “Or are you just here by chance?!”

“That’s enough out of you, ghoul!” The blonde with the stupid looking backwards hat, shouted, pointing her kagune back and fourth try to slice her.

“Yeah, Mr. Ui is our mentor!” The small brunette shouted, leashing her Koukaku like yoyo, the blade at the end just about caught the ghoul if not for her leaping back by using a rock to force herself out of it’s reach.   
But she said that he was their mentor…did that mean that they could be members of Koharu’s squad? She did say that there was a blonde and a brunette…this must have been part of the squad! As much as Karren wanted to kill them right there she knew she’d have to bite her lip for now to restrain herself. 

 

This ghoul was pissing him off everything he tried to attack him, but Ui’s stamina would not give up…if he killed this ghoul, then he’d be able to avenge-

“Say, monsieur, if you won’t sit and talk with me, I guess I’ll have to break my point here.” The ghoul said clashing with Ui’s quinque, forcing him to plant his feet in the ground and hold himself up, “You know, my friend Koharu Ui is actually the one who’s been wanting to talk with you-“  
And even the great Shuu Tuskiyama was nearly caught off guard as Ui nearly impaled his face with such sharpness and speed, which certainly no ordinary investigator could pull off in such a situation. But he spoke of his late sister, that was not something he was going to take lightly especially from such a worthless, vile, creature who should be sent to hell for even thinking of say something like that to his face. Was he trying to fuck with is mind? If he was, Ui wanted no part of it!

“How dare you speak of her?” The special class shouted, attempting to trust his quinque at Shuu again, “How do you know that name? If this is a way to distract me then you have failed to understand who I am.”

But the ghoul could only sigh, backing away and alongside the female who was also starting to hold back from the Souzu’s. 

“I see she was right…you really are a tough nut to crack.” Karren scoffed, rubbing some blood off of her forehead, “I can’t imagine why she’d want to reunite with you…but I guess at the same time I do. You’re her family after all.”

“SHUT UP! YOU DISGRACE THE DEAD!” These contemptible creatures were talking about his sister as if they knew her, they couldn’t! She was dead and they were just playing their role for Aogiri, yes, that’s what was going on. Once Shoko and Yoko were back beside him, they stood their ground awaiting for the two ghouls to make their move. 

“Oi, just come with us and we can take you to your sister.” The purplette said, not making an effort to move any closer, “she’s alive!”  
“Trusting the words of a ghoul is like trusting the words of a clown. I’m not sure how you know about my sister but I assure you that you won’t know for much longer-“ But Ui never had the chance to make another move on them, instead he was faced with a third ghoul that came in behind and caught Yoko off guard, managing to put their kagune through her back and a blood curdling scream, “Yoko!”

Now ignoring his first battle, he knew by this new ghoul’s stance and size exactly who she was, Three Blades. The brunette fell to the ground, coughing up blood and now the investigators seemed to be trapped both ways! 

Fuck.

“Yoko!” Shoko tried to aid her sister, but she seemed to be healing already and wiped her chin, tears starting to form in her eyes and yet she did not cry. She took her position ready to fight as if she wasn’t just about killed. The Qs surgery really was something…unethical but at least his squad member was okay.   
But as Ui glanced back to see if the Tsukiyama and his compadre were still there, he could see that they had just…vanished. He couldn’t see anywhere they could hide and Shoko claimed she couldn’t sense them anymore either…but even while they were open they didn’t attack them again even when they had the chance to…strange. But that nonsense Shuu was talking about…he spoke of Koharu and his friend claimed she was alive. Bullshit if she was alive she would have returned to the CCG…even more, he remember touching her cold body, lifeless and still. 

“Mr. Ui?” 

Shoko shook him out of his thoughts, bringing him back into the reality that they were still at war here! Right, it was only nonsense. Gripping his quinque a little tighter, for now he’d consider it lucky that the other two ghouls ran off and take on the one that stayed. He’d get out of this; he wanted to see Hairu again. 

\--

“I’m starting to get a little worried, Brooke.” Marie and Brooke had been looking for Carma for nearly a day at this point and had no luck of finding her. They had her scent and plenty of corpses…but no squad member. But that wasn’t even the part that their current squad leader was concerned about, “We haven’t come across any ghouls lately…do you think that maybe…”

“Carma got them alright…that or other investigators…though I doubt even many of our guys got this many in such a precise trail…” 

“I’ve been worried about her lately…I know she’s quiet but she’s been scary quiet!” The blonde investigator said, stepping over another body, “I looked into her eyes and it was like…the lights on but no one’s home.” Surly something was going through that pinkette’s head…though they weren’t sure what exactly. Perhaps her hunger for power had become so intense that she’d left out the importance of watching herself…A fine example of being madly in love.   
But there was little time to think in their current situation and especially when the sound of footsteps could be heard just ahead of them in the dark thicket. Quickly, the two prepared themselves by whipping out their quinques from their cases and unleashing their kagune’s. Reckless as the two of them were, they didn’t wait to see who could have been behind that bush and launched themselves through the bushes and found themselves in a small clearing where they spotted four figures standing like deer’s in the head lights.

 

While Shuu and Karren may have had no luck on their end, Koharu and the other 3 men had a bigger challenge still yet to face. But now face to face with two of her former squad members, Koharu had to catch her breath in seeing them act this way…towards her. Then again they probably couldn’t see her nor did they probably think it was her in the first place. She would have slowly moved closer to them if not for Brooke instantly attacking them with her shards from the distance, however she didn’t manage to hit one of them.

“I don’t see Carma!” Masaya said, for some reason standing directly in front of Ryo who still hadn’t pulled out his own kagune, what an idiot.  
“No, but that’s Kitami and Brooke, they’re part of my squad too!” 

“Better make a move before they-“ something came shooting up from under their feet, Marie had pushed her Rinkaku right under them so she wouldn’t have to move from her place! She was certainly strong and wiser since her former leader last saw her. Luckily both Amon and Masaya were able to fight it off before it hand the chance to coil. 

“Do you have a death wish…?” Brooke asked, stepping a little closer, swinging her quinque in her hand like a baton, “None of you are attacking us…Oh well, I guess you get a choice then…want to die by my ukaku or _‘Big Kahuna’_ here?”

“Neither…” Koharu said, taking a step closer so that she would be visible to them instead of hiding in the shadows, “I just want to talk.” She should have known that they weren’t going to take her seriously on the first try, instead Brooke broke out into a fit of hysterical laughter and Marie was no better.

“You here that Marie, she wants to talk with us? Did she forget her place or something?”

Again, Koharu moved a little closer to them, only this time having both of her former squad mates leaping at her and attacking from above! Damn they’ve gotten quick!

“Koharu!” Amon called, instantly jumping into to assist her, both ghouls fighting the investigators head on! But they were the one’s at the disadvantage as they didn’t weald a second weapon. Brooke’s Big Kahuna, so she called it, had something like a hook that snagged Amon by his should, managing to cut it open just a bit; though he made no reaction but a groan. 

“Fuck I just about had it.” The brunette didn’t give up though, she continued to go after the male as he could now only fight with his kagune as he held onto his injured shoulder so it had some time to heal. But Koharu was now against Marie, with Masaya lending a hand now, but with her nine tails going at them from different angles it was hard to keep up especially since Koharu’s kagune couldn’t fight in the same ways Masaya’s could. 

“Kitami!” the dark haired girl tried calling out, “Please just stop and listen for a moment!”

“If I do that then I’ll die.”

“No you don’t understand!” She pleaded back, gritting her teeth and she tried her best to resist the force of two of the tails attacking her from the side. She even went to far as to use her hands which began to bleed on impact, “Damn it Ryo can you help us!?” but the red head hesitantly stood back form the fight, glancing at both fights back and fourth looking torn on what to do. He could only eek out,

“I can’t.”

“WHY NOT?”

“I just…I can’t!”

“Ryo!” Koharu had to watch herself again; nearly distracted by the useless ghoul who was just standing to the side when they clearly needed him…though he was acting more like a bullet to the head. If he wasn’t going to help then Koahru would help herself, “Kitami…don’t you recognize me? It’s me! Koharu Ui!”  
For a moment, and only a moment, Koharu swore that she saw the blonde look at her sympathetically as if she was tryiong to make sense of this, but clearly she was still under the influence of the reality she’d been faced with,

“Koharu’s dead!”

“No Kitami, I wasn’t dead! Just please stop and listen to me!” But she showed no restraint, she kept giving in her all on the former investigator and there was only one way that Koharu was going to be able to get through to her in a way that no one else could, “I am Koharu…Kitami, remember the day we first met at the academy…I remember how you were the only one who opened up to me…and saw me for who I was and not where I came from…You always tried cheering me up by bringing me sweets and taking me to cake shops even though you knew I don’t like sweets…remember when I took you horseback ridding and you fell off your horse in the river…” No one else would possibly know these things about them, Marie was Koharu’s first real friend and was also the one who accepted her and didn’t see her as a Ui and instead saw her as a loner who needed company. Stories that not even the other girls in their squad could have known since this happened prior to them coming together as a whole. But at long last, Koharu seemed to have cracked the ice and Marie backed off from the fight, stepping back and scanning her to see if this was true, if she really was whom she said her was. 

“Brooke, stop for a minute.”

“Marie?!” The brunette looked horrified to see that her teammate had stopped in broad daylight,

“Stop!”

Brooke let out a sigh, jumping back from Amon and standing beside the blonde, critically looking over the raven-haired girl,

“And Brooke,” Koharu was fighting back a smirk as she glared at the brunette, she knew something about her that not even she knew that she did, “Do you still have Oscar the otter?”

“How do you know about-!? I mean…I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Same old Brooke still held onto that old stuffed animal, the one she thought she kept hidden. But by saying something so simple seemed to light the bulb for Marie as she looked at Koharu like she’d just seen a ghost, well to her she probably was,

“Oh my gosh…” The blonde covered her mouth as her kagune retreated back inside her body, her eye returning back to it’s normal hue and tears started to pour down her cheeks, “KOHARU!” 

The former investigator met her half way across the clearing, hugging her old friend and starting to feel her own sentimental emotions take hold of her. Brooke seemingly got the message too, though she didn’t have the feat to join the group hug until Marie forced her too. 

“I don’t get it…I saw you-“

“I’ll explain later,” Koharu said, remembering that they still had to find the others, “Look…I know I’m asking a lot for this but…would you two please come back with me…there’s something I need to show you.”

Marie just laughed, 

“No silly, you’re coming back to the CCG aren’t you?”

But Koahru shook her head, 

“No…I can’t.” She couldn’t go back, not like this. If she couldn’t go back, she’d at least hope that she could win over their trust again and show them something, this new world, and how they’re assumptions about these creatures that they called monsters…weren’t all true, “Look, I said I’d tell you the story later but I just need you to trust me…do you trust me?”

“Those are…ghouls you’re with?” Brooke pointed towards the men whom were all looking lost to this method of plan as they were.

“Yes…But I am too.”

The two investigators seem startled by all this random information…she’d seemingly just came back from the dead, they were happy to be reunited with her but to find out she was with ghouls…a ghoul…it was hard to understand.

_Please, trust me._

“Koharu…I’ve always looked up to you…you’ve taught me things and showed me things that I never knew were possible.” Maire said, looking up to the sky for a moment, “You were also my first friend too…but seeing you all of a sudden…it’s strange…you were dead…”  
“I know this is hard to understand!” Koharu said, gripping onto the blonde’s shoulders, “I know what I’m asking you…it’s out of the blue…but I need you to believe in me…I need to show you something else that will enlighten you, both of you, on a matter we’ve been wrong about for so long…Kitami…what do you feel is right?”

_Trust me,  
Trust me,  
Please, trust me!_

She was asking her to pretty much step away from the CCG and follow her down an unknown rabbit hole. Make her a traitor. But if she convinces these two of the other world, then perhaps they could enlighten the others as well. She wouldn’t force them to come with her...if she were them she wouldn’t listen, especially because she was a ghoul now…but Kitami out of their entire squad was the most understanding and maybe…just maybe… 

“Koharu…You’ve never given me a reason not to trust you…but what is it exactly you want to show us?”

“You’ll understand when you get there.”

“But if I abandon the raid I’ll…I’ll be a traitor…I’m…”

“I know…that’s why I won’t force you to come with me…If I were you I probably wouldn’t want to come either so I understand…” And even if they came with her, they still wouldn’t completely understand; they weren’t ghouls. But at least she could show them things that she’d always assumed about ghouls were wrong, they weren’t heartless, they were just like humans trying to stay alive, trying to protect their families and just like people, there were good and evil forces acting at all times. 

“Koharu…I…” Smiling a little, the blonde gazed into Koharu’s eyes and gave a nod of her head, “Yeah…I trust you Koharu…”

_Thank goodness!_

“Well if Marie agrees then…I guess I do too. I can’t have this brainless dipshit walking around without some back up. Besides I’m tired of being on this island…who knows maybe this is all in my head anyways.”

Two down, three to go. Now bring them back was always her plan, she had to show them that ghouls weren’t all what they were made out to be…being one herself truly made her see it in that light. 

 

Making their way back to their initial meeting place, there they found Shuu and Karren empty-handed…meaning that her brother either wasn’t found or was a lost cause.

“You’re brother’s an ass…” Karren said, “But I see you were partially successful…hey those weren’t the other two with him though.”  
“More ghouls…” Brooke groaned, “And what is she talking about?”

Since they were part of this mess now, Koharu filled in the two newbies on what they were planning on doing and how to go about it, she also introduced them to Masaya who’s been looking for Carma and of course the other ghouls as well. Marie and Brooke also informed her that they had been separated from the group to search for Carma who’d gone missing just a few days prior; and that Shoko and Yoko were the one’s that Karren had spared. 

“Well only our luck that we’d run into Masaya and not Carma…” The brunette chuckled, lifting her glasses up her nose, “But I’m not surprise special class bowl cut didn’t budge.”

“I didn’t know if he would…Maybe I should have been the one to-“ But Koharu was cut short when another ghoul came running towards them, one that she and Amon were faintly familiar with, “Oh no…”

“Hey! Miss!” Naki, the ghoul who was watching her cell when she was enclosed in the laboratory with Amon had seemingly been part of the operation as well, “What are you doing here?”

“Nice suit…” Koharu smiled weakly, praying that she wouldn’t have to fight him. But now that his suit was in the dark, she liked it better, “You here to capture me again so I can be used as a lab rat?”

“Nah…the doc said to let you go.” But it seems that Naki had caught wind of their being some investigators in the mix of the group, “Hey…I smell humans…are you protecting humans?!”

“We’re protecting ourselves!” Brooke stomped her foot, ready to raise a fist in a fierce manor, but Naki seemed to be in a hurry of his own to care, 

“I’d kill you if I didn’t have to find Miza…she’s small and fast!”

“Good luck with that…” Koharu rolled her eyes, but the poor man never had the chance to finish his search before another ghoul with bright red hair stopped him…one that looked surprisingly like Ryo who was already cowering behind Masaya. Koharu could assume this stranger was part of Aogiri.

“You know the rules…we kill all the humans…I can’t believe you just left two of them standing there!”

“EH? But Takeo…I need to find Miza and besides I think they were going to kill them! Look at them all!”

The red haired man, Takeo, gazed over at the group with disinterest…his eyes were beet red but they were ice cold. That was before he seemed to spot someone among them,

“Ryoichi…what are you doing here?”

Did Ryoichi know this guy? Well they did look familiar…maybe they were brothers? Shooting her head back towards the redhead she requested him to come out from his hiding place, 

“Ryo…what’s going on?! Who is this guy.”

Ryoichi gulped stepping up to her side, slopped over a little bit.

“Umm…He’s my father.” _Father?_

“What a disgrace of a son of mine…isn’t he? Can’t even kill two perfectly good investigators…I wonder what side of the war he’s on sometimes. Then again what are you all waiting for?”

“I’m afraid this isn’t any of your business, monsieur,” Shuu said, stepping out from behind, “Now why don’t you go finish your work while we finish ours.”  
But Takeo didn’t seem impressed by the order; in fact he moved in attempting to get closer to Ryo,

“This is a family matter now…” He said firmly, looking down at his son, “returning to Aogiri or are you fighting against it? Depending on what you say I’m sure I can persuade Eto to let you back in…if not then-”

“Neither.” His son choked, “I’m not fighting at all! I’m not fighting for ghouls or humans! I just want to live peacefully!”

“You never will if you can’t find a place to stand…” but Takeo was soon blocked off by both Masaya and Karren, but why though? Couldn’t Ryo just fend for himself? First he doesn’t come to aid when they needed him and now he won’t face his own father?!

**COWARD.**

“What’s with this…? Are you a man or a mouse?!” Koharu snapped, “Defend yourself!”

“I can’t!"

“What do you mean?!” 

Ryo was cornered from all sides. Masaya knew, Karren knew, Shuu knew, but Koharu didn’t and neither did his father. He always knew he’d have to come clean eventually…but he was so ashamed of it that he was sure that his father would certainly call him worthless…and Koharu…she’d never see anything in him. But what was he to do now? He couldn’t make up a lie to cover this up, not when so many already knew the truth. 

“You want to know why?” Taking a breath and pushing his pride aside, he closed his eyes and allowed for his ghoulish side to transform him and while his eyes gave the impression of terrifying, his kagune was more withered then it was the last time. The flames were starting to die out and the holes only seemed to grow, “This is why I can’t fight…I have nothing to fight with…”

He first looked at Koharu, she seemed quiet surprised to see his kagune, but more so…she looked angry as she turned away from him. His father, wore the same expression…but he seemed to have a more sympathetic gaze as his red eyes fell upon his decaying kagune,

“Have you…been eating?” he asked,

“No…Well…. just enough.”

“You know that a ghoul’s kagune can break down if there’s not enough RC…even if you have the bare minimum you’ll-“

“I KNOW!” He knew what he’d done to himself, but he hated being a ghoul, he hated it so much. Eating others…eating and killing…just so he could live. Eating just enough so he wouldn’t go mad was what Ryo was living off of. He put this shame on himself...Koharu’s disgrace, “If you want to hate me, father, go right ahead…I don’t need you to be my father anymore…I’m a grown man and I can make my own choices…your opinion doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t have to…but clearly you couldn’t care for yourself…please just let me-“

“SHUT UP!”

But Takeo’s pushiness was surprisingly the least of their worries as someone pink and fast came in at full speed.

_Someone’s leg went flying._


	24. You Can't Make Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important side note: the Uihai child, Masanori, belongs to Hamliet (thank you for letting me use him <3) from her series "The (Mis)adventures of GOAT" If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do! <33

With all of these sirens going off around her, it made thinking things out carefully a difficult task for Hideyori as she was trying her best to keep low inside of the Cochlea building. She’d managed to slip in just as there was some commotion going on inside, and when all the investigators were called inside to assist, she made her move. But now, searching through every individual cell was going to be trouble some…but luckily Eto’s scent was still fresh and she was able to find her precise location. Seeing her inside that cell helpless…it gave the bluenette goose bumps…especially because she’d seen first hand how powerful of a ghoul her friend was. Breaking off the lock with her kagune, she motioned for Eto to follow her, 

“my my, what are you doing here?” Eto hummed, “Get caught?”

“Getting your ass out of here is more like it!” She said, running in quickly and grabbing her by the wrist, “Let’s move!”

Staying clear on the way out was going to be a bigger challenge then getting in, but they had to get out of this place… _though Eto wouldn’t be in here in the first place if she didn’t expose her identity!_  
Since they were on a higher floor, they could see most of the commotion on the lower floors and Hideyori knew whom Eto was probably looking at…the reaper below…with the other one eyed ghoul. Still this was no time to stop and assist, they’d worry about their own safety first. 

“Why’d you come for me?” Eto asked, still being dragged, “You could have died getting this close…never mind being inside.”

“Yeah well…I owed you one didn’t I? Life for a life…” 

The greenette chuckled,

“You remember that? How sweet.”

“Shut it…”

“What do you know? You do have friends...” A voice came from around a corner, the corner towards the exit! A man emerged, one that Hideyori wasn’t familiar with but Eto seemed to have known.

“Yep, this is my buddy.” Her voice was humorous…but Eto’s expression was rather grim, “Now move, Furuta…”

“Haha you’re funny!”

“Not as much as a clown.”

Hideyori didn’t understand what was going on between them…how did she know this creep? Either way her patience was getting sort and she was willing to just kill him and get him out of their way. That would be the easiest option.

“I’m not sure what your guys relationship is…but we have somewhere to be…”“Well then,” the man cackled, his eye starting to take on a ghoulish form similar to a one eyed…and following up a humongous kagune came in tow! What the fuck was he?! Well she was willing to kill him, actually, Hideyori would love to see this guy dead right now. Eto seemed to share those mutual feelings…as she started to take on her owl form that always impressed her sidekick as she watched in awe,

“Alrighty…let’s see who’s getting the last laugh today.”

\--

What shocked everyone was not the fact that Carma seemed to come in so cleanly to slice off Takeo’s leg…but rather how he or she didn’t even see her coming!  
The man didn’t scream…but his face expression was screaming louder words all on it’s own. His body nearly collapsed to the ground if not for Ryoichi going in and catching him! It was like his body acted before his brain! But that was his father…

“Is that the Carma you remember?” Karren nudged Masaya who couldn’t stop staring at this newfound threat; this delicate flower was certainly not what he expected…even for an investigator. She looked exhausted and worn, covered in blood and she bearing a Koukaku made this seem that much more-

“Carma!” Marie called out, stepping in front of the group, “Carma it’s okay, calm down!”

“Move…Marie.” The pinkette said, “MOVE!”

“No!”

“You realize…you’re standing in front of ghouls…has this mission taken a toll on you?”

“I think you’re the one who needs to rest…” the blonde said, “Hey…do you see anyone behind me…that you know?”The pinkette lifted her head, her ghoulish eye seemed to be the only living thing on her body as it darted around so fast Masaya was sure that she wasn’t even taking a moment to process who was there…No. Pushing his way up front next to Marie, he bent down a little so that Carma would be able to see him…now that he was this close and he could see how drained she was…he nearly wanted to cry.

“Carma…” He said, trying to offer her a smile, “Hi…do you…remember me? It’s me, Masaya Shimizu! I’ve been looking for you…” But her expression didn’t change; it was like she saw him…but she didn’t, “Carma?”

“Masaya...”“Yes that’s-““He wasn’t a ghoul…” She didn’t see him. She saw a monster. His heart was torn but she had the right to hate him…how come the other two investigators were willing to understand and not her? Masaya wouldn’t accept this.

_He’d make her remember him._

Just leaning down a little closer, he was hoping that she’d at least remember his lips, but she didn’t seem to let him get that far as she pointed her Koukaku towards his throat; “What are you trying to do?”

“Carma stop this bullshit!” Brooke added, “Can’t you see? That is Masaya! And this is Koharu!”

“Haru-nee?” The pink haired investigator looked back at the group, squinting at the raven-haired girl had her back turned to her…or maybe to all of them. But Carma seemed to believe that it was her, “Haru-nee you’re alive?!” it was as soon as she dropped her ghoulish side, when her Kagune disappeared inside her body and her eye went back to normal did she finally start to process what was going on…and who she was standing in front of! So startled by seeing him so close, she fell back onto the ground and covered her mouth in fright!

“M-M..!” “Yeah…Yeah it’s me!” the broad man sat down next to her, not reaching out for her this time and instead let her come to him. For a few moments, all she did was stare at him then she slowly leaned over, touching his chest to feel if he was real…then moving in a little closer…she started to cry.

“Oh my god…you’re alive too!” 

_Yes...I’m here. I’m here for you._

She was blinded by her rage…that she didn’t see him…  
Masaya then pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her to keep her close and let her cry on his chest…though instead of fresh air all he could smell was blood off of her.

“You’re a ghoul…” She said, pulling herself away, “Were you-“

“It’s a long story,” he said, leaning in and wiping her tears even though they just kept falling down, “and you’re an investigator…” He had to tell her at the very least of what happened to him thus far.

And he did.

 

“Dad! Dad!” Ryoichi managed to get Takeo in a sitting position as he scavenged for his leg so it could reattach itself, “Dad just hold on…”

“Ryoichi…I’m surprised…why are you-“

“I hate you but you’re right…you’re still my father…”

Takeo winced as his detached leg was placed back in place and slowly began to reattach itself.

“So you’re the son of a bitch parent!” Karren said, placing a foot right by Takeo’s crotch, “Well I want to have a word with you _Verlierer!_ “ Ryoichi had to lower his head to avoid any eye contact with anyone, he was always so blessed to have their support but the really wasn’t the time to go all out on his father who was gasping for air and tightening his jaw as his ligaments were starting to attach again. His father would never admit is wrong doings.  
But Ryoichi didn’t expect him to…but no matter how much he disliked his father for the things he’d put him through in his past...seeing him in that moment of weakness made Ryo feel that much more useful to him…in a way that maybe he would engage in a positive light. 

 

As for Masaya and Carma, their reunion would have to be cut short once Takeo was able to stand again as reinforcements for the dives were closing in on them! Surly Brooke and Marie were already feeling the strain of not being able to return to their line of duty…but now they saw their fate sealed and stamped by Koharu’s call. Quickly, Karren and Shuu started to usher them all down to where they left the row boat, Ryo assisting his injured father who was in no condition to head back into battle or to Aogiri…they might kill him for his weakness. But as Masaya was heading down, he assumed Carma would follow and when she didn’t he couldn’t help but turn back confused, 

“Carma, come on!” But she didn’t move from where she had been, instead she watched as they all ran into the tiny boat, even more so with more people! But why wasn’t she joining them? “Carma?!”

“I can’t go…” she said, turning her head away, “I can’t go with you If you plan on heading back with them…”

“Why not?!” 

“Because…I lived with ghouls before…they’ll harm you from the inside out…”

“I’m a ghoul now Carma!”

“But Masaya…if you come with me…I’m sure I can convince the CCG to reverse the operation-“

She didn’t understand…what’s done is done. He couldn’t go back to being human…any more then she could. They’ve been blessed with this unlucky existence of bodies…treated by the desperate. But this was no time for reason, they’d get caught for sure!

“Masaya! Hurry!” Ryoichi called from the boat and that put Masaya back in his place as well. She wouldn’t go with him…but he couldn’t go with her either. They both had their reasons…though his was more so for the sake of someone else…

“Carma…I can’t go with you. Ryoichi needs me.”

“Why does he need you?”

“He’s…He’s been one of my only friends through this ordeal and…he’s not strong…he depends on me too. Please Carma, come with me…the ghouls aren’t everything you think they are…not these ones.” He reached his arm out to her, hoping she’d take it and come along. But the pinkette slapped it away, anger taking over her tired features.

“You know…I’ve been giving away my own sanity for you all these years…I never thought I’d see you again and now that I have…I find that you’ll choose a ghoul over me…”

“Carma…it’s-“

“Save your breath!” She barked, “I get it…you gave up on me and found yourself a new family…well that’s fine…”

“No…I never once gave up on you…I walked through hell and back to one day see your face again…” I took all the pain for you…but I never expected to come back to this either. Carma might have had a troubled experience with ghouls in her childhood, shit, so many of them have! But Koharu told him that he’d been Carma’s motivation and her strength to fight…clearly so she could stand on her own two feet…she wasn’t a helpless, delicate, flower that he always thought of her.  
“Well if you want to stay with the doves so be it…I can’t go back…I have my own responsibilities…” Just when he got her back, he had to let her go.

_Just his luck._

“Masaya!” She called to him as he pushed the boat into the water, “MASAYA!” but he ignored her cries…she wasn’t the Carma he fell in love with…the Carma he loved was kind and soft, not crewel and selfish. She also didn’t reek of blood.  
By the time the reinforcements arrived, the little boat was already so far out that it just looked like a dark speckle on the water, drawing in closer to the city. Carma was on her knees, crying, and the one’s to come to her aid was a rough Suzuya Squad and a sleep deprived Ui, the first to call out to her,

“There you are, Carma…You know the rules about staying with the group…did you see Marie and Brooke?”

She could give them all away – she knew where they were going. But she figured for now…she could meet with Masaya again…but where was the harm in ratting out her so called squad mates.

“Yeah…” She said, standing up and dusting her skirt, “They’re with the ghouls…those traitors.”

\--

Eto and Hideyori fought hard against Furuta…but in the end their numbers meant nothing to strength as both females seemed to be reaching their final stamina point…Furuta was no better…yet he was the only one still standing. 

“Aw, done already?” He asked, stepping a little closer, “The party’s still going on.”

“Enough with this…” Eto said, now back to her regular form, “Let us go.”

“How about…no.”

This man had been keeping them sharp…and reminding them of their true strength. But the rest of Aogiri needed them at the base and how could they get there and help if they were still preoccupied with this clown? 

“What will it take to get by? A password?” Hideyori coughed, “or a card trick?”

“I’ve run out of those,” He mused, shaking his head, “But I know her story,” he points to Eto, “Not sure about you though.”

“That’s easy…I’m your everyday ghoul looking for a reason to live after my little sister was killed by doves…”

“Ahh…Okay. A revenge seeker…well then I guess I can see how you ended up with Eto then…Well that still…doesn’t make this interesting…”

Was she supposed to expose herself to him through he reasons as well? Why? Hideyori was tired and done with this crap…but mostly tired and just wanted out of this ticking time bomb.

“She doesn’t need to say anything to you,” The greenette added, clearly on her final line too, “you’re mad at me…right?”

“Mad? That I am! At you? Just a bit.” His smile was so perturbing that the bluenette just about threw up right there. Geezz…friendship’s only ever caused her pain…

_She loved a friend who once rescued her from herself and this is where it got her,_  
She loved Ryoichi and he abandoned her,  
She loved a sister and she was stripped from her by doves, 

_Ah, Hideyori…I’m sorry I couldn’t avenge you; I may not even get to see you on the other side…but right now…I need to get rid of this bastard._  
Hideyori was strong, but Eto was stranger and could surprisingly do more good then bad…if she ever attempted to put her heart in that direction one day. Standing up, her legs felt useless under her, only good for supporting her body…and walking just a few feet so that she was standing in front of her friend who for once,  
_Looked afraid_.

“Hideyori…what are you doing?”

“Eto…never mind me, just get ready to run.”

“You’re not!”

“I am…I’m going to try anyways…” Sucking in her breath, she glanced at Furuta who also looked a little appalled by her gesture to fight again. But she was ready. There was nothing left for her anyways, “but Eto…my name’s not Hideyori you know…it’s Rin…”

But – Rin – made sure to not look back at the greenette behind her, she didn’t want to know what her reaction was.

Sad.  
Glad.  
But worst of all; expressionless. 

It only took her to reactive one impact from him and she did to him,  
He was injured enough to be worse off then Eto…alive still.  
But Rin died from using up the last of her strength…and not from loosing her head.  
_Now Eto…make your move._

 

\--

 

On their decent back, Koori Ui had much on his mind.  
Two of his squad mates abandoned their mission and were considered traitors for being seen with ghouls,  
Hirako and the Zero Squad had also resigned from the CCG,  
Arima had gone missing,  
Yoshitoki had been killed,  
His world had been completely turned upside down…what was next? Sitting next to him, Yoko was in tears for Marie and Brooke and Shoko had taken her hat of in respect for those they’d lost. Carma looked lifeless like many of the corpses. The only thing they did manage to get out of this mission was the annihilation of Aogiri…as well as his life to get back to Hairu in one piece…  
He also saw Mizurou alive and among his squad so he’d get the chance to see his child too…

But the one thing Ui couldn’t get out of the back of his mind was how that Tsukiyama ghoul who showed up claimed he knew Koharu…he said she was alive. But that was the farthest thing from the truth…Right?

All he knew was when he got back…things were not going to be the same as when they left, but he didn’t know how things were going to change for the better…

 

When they returned, the first thing Ui did was embrace Hairu, thanking god for not just his safety but for hers. The news of what happened on Rushima had already reached the headquarters so she knew what the outcome was…and the casualties. 

Higemaru seemed to have a hard time handling the loss of Brooke…and Mutsuki wasn’t the same since being found again…

“I never would have guessed…that Marie and Brooke- and Arima!“

“Neither would I…”

“Koori…” was his pain that noticeable? 

Oh, he was crying too…

_I’ve failed you Koharu…I’ve let them slip through my grasp…_

“Let’s…Let’s go home, Hairu.” Putting a hand behind her back, he guided his girlfriend out of this hell on earth. He wanted to let people mourn, he wanted to mourn…he wanted to think in a place where he wouldn’t have to watch his back. 

Little did poor Ui know that having that sense of stability wouldn’t happen even there. 

“Umm…Koori, Hairu?” Shoko called after them on their way out, her hat still in her hands and her sister following her like a lost puppy,

“Yes? What is it?”

The younger investigator looked hesitant for a moment before speaking again, her mouth was open but nothing came out until she forced it,

“Do you think…we could hang out at your place for the night…?”

They wanted to go home with them? At first he couldn’t figure out why they’d want to do that and he almost declined before remembering the toll this mission must’ve had on them. This was their first big operation and they’d gone through a lot not just physically…but mentally. Without speaking, he motioned for them to follow…though he didn’t reach out for Carma…she seemed to have already been on her way home and didn’t seem to make an effort to engage anyways

 

But getting home was nothing like a humble get-together or even involved any discussions for the following day. Ui wanted everyone to relax and reflect, take some time for themselves; even though he made a nice diner for all four of them, no one wanted to eat anything. For him, that was a usual matter, for the girls, it was odd and especially Hairu who as of late would eat her serving and more…little did he understand her lack of hunger was more then just the aftermath of the operation. 

Around 10 pm or so, Ui went out for a smoke whilst the girls were all watching the TV, though mostly just staring at it and not taking in any of the programming. But something startled him that nearly gave him a heart attack, a sudden scream coming from inside the apartment forced him to drop his cigarette over the side. That was Hairu!  
When he came inside he found her just standing up from the couch with a pool of liquid under her…oh no.  
Hairu’s water broke, she was going into labor!

“Hairu!” He called, racing to her side not knowing what to do other then attempt in helping her get ready to go to the hospital.

_Oh shit._  
Oh shit.  
Oh shit. 

But she wouldn’t budge; she actually pulled him back refusing to leave. 

“What’s wrong?! Come on, we’ve got to get to the-“

“I can’t Koori!”

“Why not?”

“I…I won’t be admitted!” 

What was she talking about? Why wouldn’t she be admitted? The pinkette’s face fell and she turned away from Ui for a moment, Shoko and Yoko coming to her side now both with the same worried expression as her. What was going on!?

“I’m assuming…you don’t know…” Shoko sighed, looking towards a frantic Ui, “Well…are you going to tell him?”

_**Tell me what?!** _

But Hairu shook her head, fighting for words and choking out gibberish. 

“Speak up Hairu!” 

“Koori I’m…I’m not - human…!”

“What are you talking about?” But Hairu never had the chance to finish as she gripped onto her stomach and started to lean over, letting out groan, and Yoko supported her from the side, 

“Contractions…?” the brunette asked her,

“Well she’s in labor…” Her sister sighed again, rubbing her forehead, “Alright…well I assumed Koori knew of this…okay, I guess we’re going to be the birth coaches.”  
Ui had no idea what was going on, what did Hairu mean by she wasn’t human? What did Shoko assume he knew? His baby was on the way and they insisted she was going to give birth here? What the fuck?!

“Do I need to tell Hairu to breath or you?” the blonde, freckled investigator asked, looking at him as if he had three heads,  
“I need someone to tell me what the hell is going on!”

“I assumed she would have told you by this point but…seeing as she has enough to worry about I’ll save her breath…you might need to sit for this.”

It was then that Koori Ui knew the truth behind something he too so easily over looked. She told him about the garden, what they were and how they were bred and raised as tools; they were all under Tsuneyoshi’s watch. The three of them were considered failed half ghouls and instead called half humans. The only thing they gained was a heightened stamina and strength. But as a side affect, they were also on a shorter life span…rapid aging. If what Shoko was saying was true…then Hairu would be dead before she was middle aged…his child would die before him too…But even more importantly…if she was a half ghoul, their child would be a quarter ghoul. All his life he’d frowned upon ghouls and here he was, dating part of one and having a child with her. But to Ui, Hairu wasn’t a ghoul; she was every bit as human as anyone else. But even he couldn’t bend the truth. 

“So…all of you, who came from the garden…you’re all part ghoul?”

“Yeah…Me and Yoko, Hsiao, Furuta and Arima…Yusa, Shio, and Rikai too. All of us.”

“This was the CCG’s plan?”

“No, we were supposed to be one eyes remember…?”

“Beg my pardon…”

“I know this must be a lot to take in… but please-“

A lot to take in…yeah no kidding. But Hairu’s screams coming from their bedroom was a reminder of what he’d been supporting all this time, someone he loved was already going through enough pain and with the amount he’s already lost in the measure of a week…he wasn’t going to make her another. Half ghoul or not she was still his partner and he loved her; right now she needed him…and he’d be there.  
When Shoko and Ui made it into the room Yoko had already helped the pinkette lay back and strip the clothes from her bottom half. 

“Koori!” Hairu called, sweat already starting to bead on her forehead, “You-“

“Shh…It’s okay Hairu, I’m not going anywhere.” He had to stay calm in order for her to be calm, though frankly he’d feel better if she was in a hospital where she’d have professionals taking care of her instead of these unqualified young women. But maybe he under estimated as the blonde was already down below and checking on his girlfriend. 

“Hmm…you’re only about four centimeters right now,” She said backing away and sighing, “We’re going to be here a while.”

“What do you mean?” Ui asked, still innocent to the knowledge of birth giving, 

“What I mean is she’s in her early stages of labor…she won’t be able to get your kid out yet…”

“Can you make it go faster?”

“Easy Koori Ui…It’s nature’s ways not mine. This is all natural,” she then looked at the pinkette, looking worried and clearly in a great deal of pain as her brows furrowed; another contraction, “You need to breath for me, all right? Remember, our mothers did this for us as so do all creatures in the wild so you can do it too. Just hold tight…and Koori, don’t leave her side…Yoko, you come with me, we’ll get things ready.”

_I won’t. I won’t leave you Hairu, not ever. I love you…_

It was all clock watching from there on out…Shoko would come by every so often to check and see if she was ready, also telling the pinkette what she would have to do when the time came. It was clear from not just her face and shaking body, but the way she called out his name that she was scared…Ui didn’t blame her; he was scared too. What If something went wrong? They wouldn’t have access to anything to help her! For now…he’d have to put faith on Mother Nature and pray for the best.  
He tried his best with reassuring words, trying to keep her calm, trying to make sure she was breathing steadily. But through every contraction she screamed…but not once did she blame him.  
Finally, a few, long, hours later, Shoko returned and inspected one last time, a determined look fell over her features, Yoko looked queasy. 

“Alright Hairu…looks like you’re about nine now…” And reaching for a blanket from her sister, who had to take a seat on the floor, the older sister positioned herself just under his girlfriend, “okay, you’re going to have to start pushing for me alright? Breath and push, breath and push, got it? I’ll say and you’ll do…just like we planned. You’re strong you can get through this.” Hairu gave a nod, her eyes red and puffy from crying from just the pain of contractions…now the real show was starting, “Alrighty…Push!” Instantly Ui’s hand was cut off from it’s blood flow, the little bit of pain was probably in no comparison to what his poor girlfriend was being put through.  
Shoko was surprisingly an amazing coach, she kept involved with Hairu and made sure she was okay. Ui felt useless, as all he could provide was encouragement. 

“Yoko! I’m going to need your hand here! I can see the head!”

“EHH?!” The brunette rushed up next to her sister, shaking a little as she prepared her hands, “Y-You’re doing good Hairu!”

“I-I don’t know how much longer…I can do this!” 

“You’re nearly there, girl, I need another big push!” 

The pinkette sucked in her breath, and let out another bloody cry as she pushed again,

“One more! It’s just about-!”

It was then…In that matter of seconds Ui could see a bloody, slim covered, screeching little body fall into the blanket in Shoko’s hands. Hairu did it! She did it!

“Well what do you know…you two have a son!”

A son…A SON!

The baby wasn’t the only one crying in the room at that moment…Ui could feel the wetness of his tears rolling down his cheeks as he watched as his son was placed onto Hairu’s chest; her emotions no better. 

“Phew,” The freckled blonde chuckled, whipping her brow, “That’s one way to spend the night. Take that off the bucket list.”

“You’re amazing sis!” Yoko said relieved. 

But Ui had already tuned everything out; he couldn’t stop looking at the small, chubby infant in his girlfriend’s arms. He was so perfect…he was here. Ui never thought he could love a ghoul…but he loved two of them more then anything in the world. 

“What are you going to name him?” Yoko asked, 

Hairu tilted her head towards Ui; they’d picked a name time long ago. One that this child so rightfully deserved.

“Masanori,” Hairu announced, “Masanori Ihei Ui.”

“Masanori, huh? Well Yoko…let’s leave them all for a while.” Shoko motioned for her sister to follow in toll out of the room, but before they did, Ui thanked them. If they hadn’t been there…they would have been in trouble. 

Once they were alone, and Ui was now the one holding his child, all he could think about is how much Koharu would have loved to meet him too. 

_There, you’re an auntie Koharu._

\--

Now a few weeks down the line at :re, it seemed that Touka had more then a full house when everyone had returned. Safe and sound…more or less. But now at the over capacity of the upstairs living, she had to move some people down to the basement. A surprised Koharu was seeing Hirako and the kids there, apparently they were there as Arima’s wish…did that mean he was dead? 

“M-Marie…?! And Koharu?!” Yusa was the first of the boys to step foreword, “You’re here?!”

“Yusa…” Marie, for once, frowned when she saw him.

Really…what had become of this world? This twisted, god for saken world?  
But Touka had brought back many other ghouls, some that were known to her from watch files and ghoul gangs, some she didn’t, many form Aogiri and of course…Ken Kaneki.  
Ryoichi’s father had also seemed to loose that overwhelming sense of power that Koharu sensed when she first saw him…now he was just like any other man. But the only reason she was mad at Ryo himself is because he knew tat he was in no fighting shape and yet he put himself on the front lines…there’s reckless and then there’s stupid.  
Masaya was another person who seemed to have changed over the course of a short time…the way he left things with Carma had left him uneasy and he didn’t speak to anyone that much after that. But even Koharu had to admit that girl looked 100 miles of bad road. 

One evening, Koharu sat down under the café in a quiet space with her former investigators, Marie, Brooke, Hirako, and the kids to explain herself and what she’d seen…what she’d missed is where they filled her in. 

“To fill Arima’s wish…I didn’t even know that you had that kind of loyalty…”

“You’ve been gone a long time Koharu Ui.” Hirako sighed rubbing the back of his head, 

“How has…my brother taken this…?”

“He took us in under his wing when you- when we thought.” Marie must have felt hesitant to say it…but to know that he remembered her simple promise was touching. 

“It’s okay Ki- um…Marie.” 

Silence fell over them, not awkward but more so in thought. 

“Do you…plan on catching up to Michiko? Or to try catching your brother again?” Rikai asked and Koharu of course nodded to that. Michiko…She was still pregnant right? What about Hairu? She wanted to meet back with all of them…did Carma tell them about her state? Or was too far-gone to even remember?  
Explaining to the group, in order to get back in touch with the CCG again through secrecy, she decided that the best way was to sneak in through another course of trust...If she could maybe contact either of those two women they’d have a way to get to them.

“But if we try calling or using the Internet they could track us,” Hirako sighed, folding his arms over his chest, “And we can’t obviously walk into the place.”

“That’s very poor sarcasm.” Brooke rolled her eyes, “yeah that’s exactly what we should do, walk up to the place.”

Taking a moment to ponder, it was Marie who was able to come up with a simple idea that just might make it work…something that only she would be able to pull off. 

“A hand written letter…?” Shio asked once the blonde had finished writing and stuck it into and envelope, “How’s that going to help us?”

“Easy!” She said, “No address but I think by now Michiko knows my handwriting!”

Marie had included a brief note on their well being and wanted to meet up with them at the park as to keep their resting location a secret…either they decided to come or not would be their choice.

“Great idea Marie!” Yusa said, giving her a grin,

“Yeah…but how do you plan on delivering it genius…” Brooke teased…but all eyes fell upon her, “What?!”

“Well…Brooke…I think you could use a freshening up.”

Oh no.

“So Brooke, how do you feel about actually wearing a dress to play post man…sorry, post woman?” Koharu teased, “I bet Touka will have at least something.”

“NO!”

But to be part of the team, means you got to play by the team…even if it means having to wear a dress and have you’re hair styled.


	25. Rockabye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Masanori belongs to Hamliet <3
> 
> Yay for Chapter 25! (I don't really understand why this number is worth celebrating but...yay!) Actually all the upcoming chapters are getting more exciting!
> 
> This chapter is jam-packed! (lol) Like so many milestones are reached and break throughs...as well as break downs...Anyways this chapter deserved to be the 25th chapter and I hope you all enjoy!  
> Happy reading <3333
> 
> (Also watch for the time jumps)

“Hey, Michiko, there’s a letter at the door for you!” Juuzou called as he approached the heavily expectant mother who was having Mizurou paint her toes for her, her feet had to look nice at all times and her husband was willing to go that extra mile to keep her happy…most of the time, “There’s…no address though.”  
Michiko motioned for him to bring it to her, inspecting the outside of the envelope she didn’t notice anything strange about it. Carefully opening it, there was a piece of folded paper that she opened and read to herself.  
It was brief,

“ _Alive and well._  
7:15  
Hibiya.  
Hairu.”

If not for the beautiful kanji that she knew well enough to identify from one person, she would have thought of this as a joke; Marie. Hibiya…she must have meant Hibiya Park.  
_Why there?_  
It must have been a meeting place…but Marie…she was seen as a traitor to the CCG. But even Michiko couldn’t completely think ill of her nor of Brooke…They were some of her best friends. Then it also said Hairu…was Hairu supposed to come too or something?

“Michi?” Mizurou called, waking her from her daze, “You okay?”

“I’m fine,…” she said, hiding the letter on her chest and giving a smile, “It’s just probably a joke from the kids down the block.”

He looked doubtful of her but shrugged it off and continued to shakily finish up her nail polish.  
One thing that Michiko knew for sure was that getting to take Hairu out would be a challenge since she just had her baby a few short weeks ago - amazingly a home birth - so she was probably too busy at the moment. For the light brunette, she’d need some more time to ponder on this…was it worth it? What if this was just some dumb prank…what if it was Marie and Brooke were really trying to reach out? 

_She’d think about it._

“There, what do you think?” Her husband asked proudly, twisting the lid back onto the nail polish bottle, “Not bad right?”

“Mizurou, darling, I can’t see…”

Curiously, Juuzou peaked down and looked rather surprised to see the outcome, 

“Wow, not bad.” The stitched boy took a picture with his phone so she could see, but from the uneven stroke-lines and the amount he got on her cuticles, Michiko wasn’t really that impressed,

“You tried…” Never send a man to do a woman’s job. Oh well. But there was something discomforting thing happening inside of her, that was causing her edginess, like harsh cramping, only she was putting a bet on hunger as the sound of peanut butter sounded really good right about now. “Hey, do we have any peanut butter?”

“The last time I checked…I don’t think so…why?” Mizurou replied, carefully lifting her feet up onto a stack of pillows, she had him trained well by this point as when she was asking about food…it meant she wanted it…”You need me to go out and get some?”

“Please?” She grinned, “It’s not just for me…think of the little human who wants some.”

Her husband let out a sigh…maybe more of a groan, 

“Want bread too? Jam?”

“Nope, just the peanut butter.”

“Well better now then 2 am...” But looking outside at the late December snow, it was going to be one chilly walk to the convenience store,

“Hey while you’re out there, can you bring me back some ice cream?” Miyuki asked teasingly, failing to hold back his laughter, 

“Hell no! Go get it yourself!”

\--

Standing in the center of the park at the time they all planned to meet. The girls all wore different outfits and hats to blend in with the other people who happened to walk by, but no sign of either Michiko or Hairu coming by.

“Did you actually deliver the letter Brooke?” Koharu asked, wincing from the blinding light of the sunset reflecting off the snow, “or did you stick it in a bush?”

“No I delivered it!”

“Maybe Michiko didn’t believe me…” Marie sighed, twiddling her thumbs, “maybe I wrote it weird?”

“No, you’re the only person who can write that nice…I think that Michiko needs a little more convincing…that or it’s too cold out.” Koharu sighed, taking off her obnoxious hat and tossing it in a nearby trashcan. She personally had a mixed sense of hope when it came down to this whole scenario, but she really did want to see Hairu and Michiko again. She knew if she could find a chance to at least talk to Michiko…she might be able to understand, “we’ll see what Kaneki want’s us to do…GOAT has other things to get done and this is only a side problem. For now…we’ll play by ear.”  
And if it was one thing she was glad that stayed unaffected when becoming a ghoul, it was still being able to smoke. Taking out her brand new package of cigarettes and lighter she’d been keeping in safekeeping, she gladly pulled one out and shoved it between her lips. Marie stuck out her tongue,

“Koharu…that’s a really unhealthy habit…”

After lighting the end, she sucked in a powerful breath then let out a big toxic cloud,

“It takes the edge off.”

\--

 

But even after eating half the jar of that goodness that Mizurou brought home, Michiko’s cramping didn’t go away…in fact they started to get a little more intense especially going into the night. Having trouble sleeping was nothing new, but not when she was struggling to find her breath and hiding the discomfort was also starting to become a challenge as her face tightened. Glancing at the peacefully sleeping body next to her, she couldn’t help but moan to herself as Mizurou’s light snores filled their bedroom.

‘ _Glad you’re sleeping well…_ ’

Michiko actually had to get up from bed to stand and lean herself against the wall to keep upright for a moment. Biting her lip, the pain slowly started to decrease and she was able to feel like normal…or as close to it as she could get. But she remembered from all of her maternity books that it was possible to have false labor contractions a few weeks to the date so that’s probably what these were; according to her doctor she had about two more weeks at best.  
Stumbling around in the dark to the bathroom, she started to feel something wet trickle down her legs and the first thing that came to mind was that she failed to hold her bladder… but when she managed to find a light switch she saw that this was something else. **Well fuck**.  
So her contractions weren’t false alarms! Shit.

Keep Calm.  
Keep Calm.  
_I can’t keep fucking calm!_

“M-Mizurou!” She called, more like yelled, “ **Help!** ” From their bedroom she heard a ‘thud’, then an array of footsteps as he came to discover her standing in the middle of the hallway leaned over with a pool at her feet. 

“Shit, _SHIT_ , okay...Okay-“ racing back into the room to find himself a pair of pants, it didn’t take long for the rest of the Suzuya squad to come out of their quarters, awakened the sounds of two very unnerved soon-to-be parents!

“Hanbee! We need the car!” her husband said, helping her slip on a sweater, “NOW!” 

“Y-Yes! One moment!” the tall man said, also in a bit of a tizzy himself as he was frantically looking for the car keys.

“Wow! We’re having a baby?” Juuzou asked, emerging from the same room shirtless, “We better get going!”

“Suzuya-san…I think that Hanbee should just drive those two to the hospital first and we’ll see them in the morning…” Keijin said, leaning against his doorframe trying to look calm and cool, but his face looked drastically worried…or maybe he was still half asleep. Once Hanbee was ready, the three headed down, in somewhat of a rush, 

“Well good luck!” Miyuki called down to them, “It’s a full moon tonight! Let it keep you all safe!”

 

The car ride there was anything but peaceful, Michiko’s contractions had started to pick up again only this time more viciously then before causing her to yell out in pain. They weren’t kidding when they said this was one of the most painful things in the world and she wasn’t even at the hardest part yet. 

“Just breath, Michi, we’re almost there, you’re going to be-“

“ **NO UTERUS NO OPINION!** ”

“R-Right!” poor Mizurou had a feeling that this was going to be a long night, “Hanbee can you put the petal to the metal?!”

“I’m going the speed limit!”

“Go faster! The baby will be popping out right here if you don’t step on that gas!” There wasn’t anyone on the road - hardly- anyways which was a lucky thing considering if it was daylight they might not have made it! But they had Hanbee’s driving skills to thank as well for the little cop activity to catch their speed…it must have been the moon. Maybe Miyuki wasn’t crazy. 

Michiko was separated from Mizurou when they arrived at the hospital as she was taken away to a privet room while he was forced to stay behind with some minor paper work…honestly by this day and age you’d think that it would all be a thing of the past.  
Michiko’s contractions had only increased in their length and their pain intensity, not even the medication they were putting her on was helping…but as hours passed she still wasn’t ready to give birth…what the heck?! The nurses in the room were also slowly becoming concerned with her condition as she hadn’t been able to grow in size…Trying different remedies, they put Michiko through another set of medication, they’d tried setting her in a tub of water, but nothing seemed to be working…she’d never been more afraid in her life, ghouls were nothing compared to this. Her entire body was trembling when finally a doctor came into the room to inform them that the baby wasn’t turning into the proper position in her womb and it’s heart rate was starting to rise at a dramatic rate, with this threatening not just the child’s life but Michiko’s he called for a caesarean. 

_C-section…_

She looked over at Mizuoru who looked as white as a ghost and she was probably no better. Surgery was nothing she’d ever really considered to be a terrifying thing, she’d had it done when she became a Quinx…but for some reason this wasn’t something she was thinking of as an easy walk-in and walk-out operation. 

“Whatever’s best for the baby…” She heaved,

“And for the mother!” Her husband choked.

And with that being their final decision, Michiko was prepped for surgery. 

 

In the small waiting room, the entire Suzuya Squad eventually showed up, uneasily pondering to get any news, no way they were going to wait at home when one of their own was being taken to emergency!  
But so far they were going to consider no news was good news.

 

“I’m right here…” Mizuoru held onto Michiko’s hand as he sat next to her in the operating room, her face fallen and her skin milky, “are you okay?”

“I can’t feel anything from my neck down…” She groaned out, the epidural was a blessing and a curse; she couldn’t even feel his hand. But she could sense pressure, nothing more. Not being able to feel anything was scarier then her contractions from before…especially since now everything was out of her control. The doctors warned her of some more pressure points that they’d be pushing and she winced when she felt it, “Mizuoru…if I have a scar…will you still love me?”

“Of course I will! Michi…You’re having my child…and you’re beautiful…and you want to know what I think? I think that having a scar will just prove what a strong-“ But he was cut short when the sounds of short, loud cries could be heard on the other side of the curtain and even just that was enough to make the light brunette stop in time…and feel her heart pound. Then, their small baby was lifted so that they were able to see…their daughter!

“Congratulations, it’s a girl!” one of the nurses said, taking the infant away to be checked over. But oh how badly Michiko wanted to hold it as soon as she could…but right now she wouldn’t be able to feel it’s tiny body…

“Michi! Michi! Did you see her? That’s our baby girl!” She’d never seen Mizurou this elated before, not while he was balling anyways. He had a smile from ear to ear with tears flowing down his cheeks, “You did…amazing!” She gave him a weak smile in return, she was thankful for his support and glad to hear what he said about her even if he didn’t get the chance to finish…she knew what he would’ve said. 

\--

With Michiko heading to recovery, Mizurou had come out to great his more or less patient squad that was pumped to hear the news. 

“So, How is the Michiko? The baby, is he okay?” Juuzou asked, 

“Actually…it’s a girl!”

“A girl?” They all asked in unison, “Little Bean’s _a girl_?”

“That works too!” Juuzou said with his cheeks flushed; they’d all assumed it would be a boy.

Mizurou then led them down the hall to the window to view the new infants in care as his baby was premature and needed some extra attention for the next few hours. In a incubator much like the other newborns, luckily close to the front and her wailing was undeniable, Mizurou knew exactly which one was his and pointed her out to his squad proudly,

“That’s mine right there in the front, that’s Mizuki Tamaki.” Mizuki…their own little moon, “and I even got to swaddle her! She’s not getting out of that blanket till high school!”

But once again, Miyuki Mikage had come through for him in a different way – all by chance…the guy really deserved a metal. 

“OH wow! She’s so tiny.” His squad leader said with his face right up to the glass to see her, even waving, though the infant didn’t seem to notice through her cries “Welcome to the squad Mizuki!”

Hanbee was a crying mess himself holding onto Juuzou, muttering about how big of a day this was and Miyuki had a sense of pride of his own. Keijin watched and pondered over the child, even smiling a little bit.  
Yes, Mizurou really had it all…friends, a gorgeous wife, and a beautiful daughter…what else could he want? 

But parenthood was certainly going to be an eye opener for them, all of them!  
If it takes a village to raise a child, what about a squad?

 

\--

 

This was going to be the first time since the island that Ryoichi Takeo had spoken to his father; and this time no one was forcing him to do it! After GOAT formed and all these ghouls had come together as a whole, the aura of his father had changed dramatically, to the point where he wasn’t sure if that was the same, ruthless man that he once knew; it was if he shriveled.  
Shakily carrying in two cups of coffee, the young Takeo hesitantly stepped towards his father’s bedside where he was sitting, depressed; looking like there was a weight on his shoulders, 

“Hey…dad, I made us some coffee,” gesturing out one of the cups, his father looked at it, then back his son, 

“No manners to knock?”

“Sorry…”

“Keep it in mind next time…” Takeo sighed, taking the cup and pointing to a chair for Ryoichi to pull up. So he was willing to talk then. As he took a sip, his father’s features twisted,

“You…made this?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s unpalatable.” There it was, always cutting him down. But for once, Ryo could agree…this coffee was bad, “You’ve been working in a café for how long and still can’t make a decent cup?”

“Hey it’s harder then it looks, Shouhei! Touka makes it look so easy…” Saying his father’s given name felt almost like he committed a sin, but the only punishment he got was a dirty glare form the man who probably hadn’t heard anyone call him that in a while…

“Watch yourself, Ryoichi…or I’ll rinse your mouth with this horse piss you made…”

But today Ryoichi had no choice but to make the coffee, his old manager had other things to deal with. 

Shouhei Takeo was always sensitive about people using his first name, much like Marie used to be, though his reasoning was a bit more sentimental. Ever since his lover died, Ryo’s mother, he disliked being called by a name that only she every used. When he joined Aogiri Eto was the only one to know it as a way to entry.

Placing their cups to the side, Takeo was not one for pointless chit-chat and seemed eager to get into a conversation that mattered to him; much to Ryo’s own displeasure. 

“So…You haven’t been keeping up with your meat intake?”

“No…”

“When you don’t take enough RC a ghoul’s kagune breaks down…the minimum to live is never enough,” It wasn’t…god why did his father still treat him like a child. Sure he lacked to keep up with his own wellbeing - but he was a man. His father added, “You know, Ryoichi, what actually surprised me back then…was you knowing of your condition and still putting yourself out in the open like that…”

“Yeah…Koharu said the same thing to me.” _Koharu_ …he’d managed to make a fool of himself in front of her. She was so brave, she was so quick witted; she always seemed to be ready and was genuine with everyone…unlike him. He was cowardly, he was slow and lanky; he was always picked on by everyone one way or another. But what he really wanted was to help others, he wanted to see the best for his friends because…they did for him at one point…and still do. 

“Koharu…Koharu Ui? Is she one of those former-“

“Yeah…that’s her. She said I was an idiot for going out there.”

“and she’s right,” His father smirked, “you’re one stubborn idiot…well I guess that just confirms you’re my son then.” 

“ _oh goody…_ ” 

But the playful manner was soon over and his father had fallen back to that solemn state.  
It was a tough conversation for father and son, but it was a man-to-man talk…something they’d never really done. Truth was, Shouhei wasn’t bothered by the fact that he had a moment of weakness on the island…it was because now with Aogiri delinked, all the money that he’d been collecting to give his son so that he could support himself had also been taken. He had no identity anymore and he had nothing to give his only off spring.  
If he didn’t see himself as a crummy parent before he sure did now. 

“I know living as…what we are is hard enough, but I thought that if I could get save up and work for enough money then you could at least be stable…”  
But his father really was the fool to think that Ryo actually cared for materialistic things…he didn’t in the least! 

“Dad…you don’t get it do you?” the redhead stood up from his seat and for once he was the one looking down on him, “I never once wanted money! All I ever wanted was you to stay with me growing up! To just be there and say you were proud of what I could do instead of criticize what I couldn’t!”

“But I was…never able to give you anything desirable…you never had any of the luxuries most children in the city had.”

“I never missed what I never had!” _He didn’t_. The only luxury he wanted was to be human…But now that he thought about it, his father was resourceful to at least find somewhere for him to be sheltered…somewhere where he was able to have food when he wanted it…it wasn’t the best place to grow up but it was better then nothing, “all I ever missed my dad!”

Maybe it was a spark of hope that flashed in his father’s eyes…maybe it was the dangling light bulb in the basement…whatever he sensed…maybe his father was starting to realize that he didn’t have to go to great lengths to support his child…he just had to be there. Standing up next to his son, he struggled to find the right position to hug him,

Maybe he didn’t know how

Luckily Ryo did, his friends at :re showed him how to hug a friend and least to say hugging his father…was a little awkward…but it was nice to feel that embrace of a parent.

“I’m sorry Ryoichi…I’m sorry for everything.” He said, “I let everything go to my head…you’re not a worthless son…you’re just trying to do the right thing…and I am proud of you.”

_He’s proud of me._

That was nice…

But their moment was cut short with Karren knocking on the door frame, trying not to smile…but she failed to keep it down, forcing the two to back away from each other instantly and stare at the purplette. 

“Hey, Takeo’s, Kankei’s calling for a meeting!” 

“He is…well, kings orders.” Ryoichi said, marching behind Karren with his father towing behind. She’d certainly seemed to be in higher spirits today…he wondered why? No…he knew why, he could sense it and that made him smile a little too. 

‘ _What a horrible time for children, Karren._ ’ he thought…but then again there never seemed to be a good time. 

“Uncle RYOOOOOO!” Auralee called at the end of the hallway…only she was running towards him at an alarming pace that he didn’t even have a chance to duck before she leaped onto him and sent them to the ground! “Uncle Ryo! Guess what?!”

“What…?” He asked, rubbing the back of his head that made harsh contact to the floor,

“Uncle Yomo said we could go up and out today!”

“Did he…?” Up and out…outside did she mean? When was the last time the kids went out anyways? It had to have been months…so Masaya was finally letting them go…well considering that two for their threats were already down here with them it probably didn’t matter at this point. Besides they were probably going meat collecting with Yomo anyways so they should be fine. 

But it was little moments like this that often made Ryoichi wonder, if there was time to find a little piece of happiness in a war…why couldn’t the rest of life be the same? He knew the answer, he just wish it had more then one option.

 

Meanwhile, in another room down below in her chambers, Akira Mado sat staring aimlessly at nothing whilst at her bedside sits another one of her former investigators. Though their conversation was yet to be desired.

“Inv-…Umm, Akira?” Marie had offered to be the one to do the explaining of what had happened to all of them, why she was there, why they were all there and their current situation in terms of CCG relations, “Do you…understand what I said? Did I-“

“You’re fine…” The other blonde woman replied coldly, “I’m a traitor...”

“Akira…they saved you…Takizawa and Tomoe-“

“I had a sense of honor to die on the battle field!” She snapped, “Just like my father did! But instead I’m given a worse punishment by being saved by the…” _enemy_. Even Marie still was hesitant to trust these ghouls completely, but she trusted Koharu completely so for now her faith rested in her hands. But no matter how she pleaded Akira just wasn’t sharing any sense of view. The only thing she believed was that Koharu was alive since that would be the only reason that Brooke and she would so foolishly step down from their place. “And you…Marie Kitami…you we assigned as leader of your squad at the time, weren’t you? Why did you act on your selfish accounts and leave the rest of them hanging...I don’t believe you mentioned anything about Carma or the sisters being here…”

“I’ve…never been a good leader,” Marie admitted, her smile slowly starting to drop, “Even when I tried acting like one…and even when I was being myself…I’ve never been good at showing them the right way…Koori- no…Ui, he was always taking over for me and not even Michiko’s advice helped…I guess you could say…I was just a cat looking at the queen.” Acting in the moment…thinking selfishly to escape her role and some how childishly believe that Koharu’s role as leader would fall back into place…clearly that was an ill thought expectation. Akira turned herself away from her, folding her arms over her stomach and letting her locks fall over her face. Did this mean their talk was over? Marie decided she should be on her way anyways…she had new roles to keep up with, “Akira…you know…there’s a couple of fella’s who want to speak with you too? Does Taki-“

“Just go, Marie.”

“Alright.” Sighing, the blonde closed the door behind her, twiddling one of her hair bows in thought, solemnly. This world was so messed up…not even she could keep this happiness and optimism up forever. Sometimes she just had to come clean with herself…sometimes she just couldn’t be the peacemaker when there was no peace to uphold.

“Hey, Kitami- Marie…” Hirako, whom was passing the hallway at the moment with the rest of the remaining zero squad called out to her, “You okay?”  
Turning to them with her unusual expression, she could hear Shio gasp and when she glanced at Yusa, who too was looking rather down, forced her to try and put on a mask of a grin…but her cheeks hurt when she did so.

“I’m fine…Akira’s still not well.”

“I see…there’s a meeting going on in a few minutes…walk with us?”

“Sure!” instead of skipping over, she walked next to her one bit of support in the world, the teenager whom always seemed to be blended in or forgotten in the crowd, one who was the underdog of a popular name. She may not have said it to him, but she was grateful for Yusa…he’d believed in her when no one else did. But for once, she didn’t catch him looking at her.  
But instead of arriving to a meeting…to everyone’s horror, those ready to fight…are requested to take on an array of mysterious clowns…

“Fighting...” Marie heard Yusa mutter, “Can’t it just stop?”

\--

Koharu had always said time was not a given thing and she was right. The scares that were starting to unfold on the surface were just as bad as that underground. The gruesome fight-taking place shortly after on an array of mysterious clowns was taking quiet a toll on those staying behind once again. 

And for new mothers of the next generation, this was becoming exceptionally terrifying that their children may never get to live through this new revelation.

“No Masanori…don’t pull on my hair...” Hairu sighed as her cheeky son started to reach up and attempt grabbing handfuls of his mother’s hair much to her displeasure. Both mothers stayed close, pretty much huddling in Ui’s apartment with their children. But even when she was able to pull his tiny hands away, Masanori let out shrieks of annoyance, causing Mizuki to cry in tow. 

Michiko couldn’t help but feel just a little terrified – a horrible thing for an investigator to say – of this mysterious rampage that was taking place and she couldn’t help…her husband was out there…who knows, maybe her friends were too. But she wasn’t going to risk herself…not when she had a child so frail and so dependent on her…the tiny infant had her hand out from under her blanket and was clutching onto her mother’s shirt, fussing and mewling with Michiko rocking her to try and sooth her again. But if it came to it, Michiko would give herself up for her daughter to live. But she could some how sense that Hairu felt the same way…motherhood had certainly changed them, some ways for the better.  
The light brunette couldn’t help but smile as she looked over to see that little Masanori, a few weeks older then her own, was staring at Mizuki with curiosity from his own mother’s grasp; cute. His pink tuft on his head was starting to look like someone took a balloon too his head it was so fluffy.

_Please Mizuoru…Ui…everyone…hear our prayers._

\--

Kaneki had split GOAT into fighters and protectors. Koharu and all the former investigators were ordered to fight the clowns, killing them one after the other. The hard part was avoiding the CCG at the same time.  
However, Brooke was the first to notice a familiar face running by, even if only for a glimpse…Higemaru? That pink hair was undeniable, but where was he going? Was that Urie with him? 

“Don’t turn around…don’t turn around.” She muttered to herself, trying to force her legs to keep going forward and to fight with her group, “Don’t do it don’t- **AGUGG**!” But her head switched her body around, only to loose sighed of that pink haired man…she hadn’t seen him in a while. 

_She was starting to believe she was making it a habit to run out on him._

But she could pick up his scent and oddly enough…it went into a building.

“Geezzz…I wonder if I have to save his ass again…he’s never been a strong fighter.” But before she could leap inside, she was interrupted by another familiar voice that she hadn’t heard in a long time,

“Brooke?” she only turned her head a little, and there standing behind her was Saiko Yonebayashi and Hsiao Ching-Li, two Qs that she used to consider good company. Fuck, she still did! “Is that you?”

“In the flesh.” She said, letting out a sigh, “I don’t have time for you to kill me you know-“ then, through the air of speckled scream and horror, the three women were able to pick up a high-pitched scream that could only belong to one man that they knew all too well. Only instead of fear…it sounded of the siren of agony. “Hige?!” that was him! That was him! Oh god he really couldn’t handle himself. Brave and bold as she was, Brooke leaped into the building to try and find him, of course being followed by the other two, 

“B-Brooke Wait!”

But by the time the brunette arrived, she too was nearly impaled by a kagune coming through the ceiling if not for Saiko blocking it! Phew! Reaching the floor of the cries and screams, to their horror, they found Urie being pinned to the ceiling and Higemaru scuffing, as a ghoul – one unfamiliar to Brooke – was tearing off one of his arms!  
She didn’t know what was going through her head at that moment, all Brooke did know was that her body and state of mind acted out of rage as she started to launch her shards in the ghoul’s direction, being backed up by the investigators, and then leaping over Hige and trying to attack the ghoul!  
“YOU’VE GOT A LOT OF FUCKING NERVE!” She growled, her shards managing to hit his kagune forcing him to release Urie, “IF YOU HURT HIGEMARU, YOU’LL BE GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL WITH A ONE-WAY PASS FROM ME!”  
Higemaru wheezed on the floor, still crying out in pain, but when he saw Brooke there, along with the others, he nearly had a heart attack,

“B-Bro-“

“RUN!” She shouted to him, “GET OUT!” 

She didn’t bother to turn around and see if left…but this ghoul for some reason…seemed to know whom she was. She could hear his crewel whispers as he played her mind with harsh words that she failed to believe,

“The kids these days are so uneducated…the woman are too thin and live on beverages as to sustain them…men…they’ve gone to rot.”

“Foolish talk!” Urie piped in, backing the brunette from the side, “ghouls are the only rotten things…”

He wore a mask and yet Brooke shivered at the thought of a smile on that face…if there even was one under there.

“Ah…but I believe I was talking to her…miss Akita yes? Her mother’s taste was a newly pressed wine, her sisters were unrefined street food and her father was all molded wood attacked by roaches. I remember seeing your face on a wall or two when I visited Hokkaido just a while ago for comparison to here…tis’ a lie. Laughter did send me though...”

“SHUT YOUR FACE!” No…her family was alive! They were fine! Alive and well!

But it was if the fight had stopped in mid air…this ghoul…he took off in a blink of light as if something had called to him from afar leaving them all bewildered and confused. 

My family… **My family!**

“He’d lying!” Brooke shouted, though to no one, “He’s Lying!” but right now…Higemaru needed her, her best friend who’d taught her so much…he was down there, helpless and in need. God what was happening?!  
Leaving behind the other investigators, Brooke found Higemaru passed out on the ground and she quickly fell to her knees, lifting his body and holding him. Calling for help! 

“Stay with me, Hige, come on…! I don’t want to slap your face to wake you!”

“Br…ooke.” He muttered, his lips hardly moving and his brows flinching,

“Shut up and rest!”

“But you-“

“I said shut up Touma!” tears rolled down her cheeks and onto his face, leaving droplets on his cheeks…it seemed by this point…this battle was nearing an end as groups were starting to unit again and separate into different directions. But no one came to her aid…was it because she was still a traitor? No, she’d be dead.

“Saiko…will get him to emergency!” The bluenette called from behind, trying to put a hand on Brooke’s shoulder who only flinched over Hige as out of habit…though she struggled to let him go as Hsiao lifted him away, “You know…Saiko will never hate you Brooke…no matter what they say…You were a good friend, you and Marie.”  
Her clothes were soaked in Hige’s blood…but she didn’t care. For the first time in her life…she didn’t care about just herself.  
If Hige was just and acquaintance of her past, someone she relentlessly teased and mocked, someone she always seemed to overlook…and yet was her secret hideaway to go to on nights where she just felt alone, someone who worshiped and loved her body even if only for that short time…but **she** was always the one to leave him alone in the bed afterword’s and acted like it meant nothing to her; like he meant nothing to her.  
That’s a Lie…even before her squad…consciously - though secretly - she counted him as her best friend. He was her first time too…Words of remorse maybe…but as she called out names…and all that Urie could do was bite his lip as he watched her bellow and cry. 

“Brooke…You know…” Letting out a sigh, he looked towards the muggy sky, “That ghoul…he…your family they…”

 _So they knew._ It wasn’t a mock…Higemaru knew too…?

“Mom…Dad…Shauna…Brenda…Erica…Touma!” The brunette slammed her fists on the pavement, taking off her own skin just as said as it grew back, screaming words of regret “DAMN IT! DAMN IT ALL!” 

She couldn’t protect them.  
**Brooke was no hero.**

“Actually...Brooke-“ But even as Urie tried to stop her he was already being called out to by other CCG officers being forced to leave her. How long were they dead, her family, how long had she been living the lie? How many months? Weeks? Days? 

How long…had she been lying to herself?

For a while…The brunette didn’t leave the pavement, instead she sat in the pool of Higemaru’s blood, sulking in her losses of both family…and possibly a friend. 

“Hey, Brooke,” A shadow stood over her; actually it was five of them. But the one reaching her hand out was a blood covered Marie, her hair bows starting to come undone and her eyes…they didn’t seem to have that spark of light as they usually did…and yet she was still trying to force herself to smile. Pathetic.  
Yusa and Hirako stood next to her, the other two other zero squad kids and Koharu behind; they all looked remorseful, “Let’s go…the other’s are waiting.”

\--

But the fight wasn’t like any of the other previous operations or fights that the CCG had taken, at least not according to Koori Ui’s morals. Standing over one of the bodies he and the Souzu sister’s had managed to take down…he couldn’t even think for a moment.

“You see it too…right Koori?” Shoko Souzu was also struggling to come together with reality, gritting her teeth in frustration, “Who’s the sick mastermind?”

“You think that this…has affected anyone else?” Mougan Tanakamaru asked the fellow Special Class, but all Ui could do was turn himself away from all of them, saying what was expected but not what he wanted to say,  
“It’s…It’s all just ghoul disposal.”


	26. Everybody Wants to Rule the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you and enjoy! <3333
> 
> (Masanori belongs to Hamliet)

A promotional ceremony was in tow, and this time, for a greater purpose than all the former ceremonies she’d attended before.   
Michiko and Mizurou had come to support Juuzou Suzuya for his promotion, along with the rest of his squad and little Mizuki, who for once wasn’t fussing or crying and was being held by her father whilst being amused by her uncles. Across the way, Michiko also spotted Hairu who was here to support Koori Ui; he was promoted to be the new Bureau’s adviser! But for Hairu who was sitting in the audience holding their son Masanori in her arms…the infant was not as well behaved as her Mizuki as he was trying to grab onto just about anything in his reach from an investigator sitting next to them; poor Hairu. 

However, once the ceremony had officially begun, what they all had to witness…was anything but pride as their new Bureau, Furuta, had marched out in some certainly…unprofessional attire. What’s with those party glasses?! Michiko could faintly hear a quick gasp coming out of Shoko’s mouth,

“Is this some kind of joke?! Who does he think he is?!”

“Quiet down, Souzu…” Keijin hushed her, “You’ll cause commotion.”

“Hell that I do…!” Michiko was pretty sure that the blonde was about to strut up that stage herself if not for her sister holding her back. 

From behind the Bureau it was clear as crystal that Ui wasn’t impressed with this act either.

But this wasn’t even the worst part-  
Something or rather someone unexpected had appeared on stage-  
Children? Children that were all lined up like little soldiers and wearing costume masks…But even more so a man that the CCG had also deemed a traitor-

Ken Kaneki.

Skeptical, the young woman leaned back in her seat, unsure of how to react or what to say, Mizurou was no better it seemed and leaned closer to his wife whilst holding his daughter a little tighter.  
Then something happened, something happened so fast and without warning that Michiko would never be able to erase the image out of her mind. The decapitation of the ghoul, right there on stage in front of even the innocent eyes of the public was burned into the back of their skulls.   
The room sent out some mixed reactions, all were horrified nonetheless that Furuta would be that inhumane, that undignified, and have the balls to show this disrespect to those he called his coworkers. Mizuki must have gotten that sense of unease herself and started to cry, instinctively Mizurou sheltered her by holding her tight to his chest, keeping her eyes away from the stage as fury started to paint his features. But even the cries of this innocent infant was enough to remind them all that their futures here at the CCG were only that of a ticking time bomb. 

\--

“What the hell was that?!”

Hairu had seen a lot of terrible things over the years, many things that she’d never bring to the light of day, but this…this was making it into the higher section of that list!   
She was thankful that at least her son was too young to be able to remember this later on. But her partner seemed just as shaken and sickly as anyone else,

“Hairu, I didn’t know that was going to happen…”

“And…Oggai?!”

“A new form of quinx…another thing that’s been going on in the shadows it seems.”

The Oggai…all orphaned children that the CCG had taken in as their parents had been killed by ghouls…perfect bait to lure in and use as tools as they already carried that grudge. How horrifying…then again, Hairu could relate on a different level. 

“Koori…can you bring this incident up to him when you get the chance? Not even the bureau should be able to get away with that stunt…I’m sure Takomi wouldn’t appreciate that behavior at his wedding.”

 

Oh, Ui would be saying something, especially as he was now the bureau’s adviser - such behavior would not go unnoticed.   
However, when Ui had found the time alone with Furuta and brought up the subject, he was only interrupted by the appearance of Kanou in the CCG’s laboratories…

_what?!_

It was just one thing after the other, the CCG was going to fall in a matter of time if this nonsense were to keep up…and it would drag them all to hell with it. 

“Oh but, who’s to care what I do?” Furuta mused,

“ **I Care!** This is nonsense! All of this! What was going through that unscrewed head of yours?!” 

But Furuta could only laugh, guiding Ui down another astray hallway and making note of something oh…too dire. 

“You have a son now, right? You and princess Hairu? That Masanori’s a rascal I’m sure Koharu would have just loved to have met him…”

 _Yes, she would have…and if not for her, Masanori wouldn’t be here_ …sadly she was the one who wasn’t. But that was none of this man’s business…why was he bringing her into this so casually?! Instead, he replied to his leader’s comment.

“You hardly even knew her! How can you put words in her mouth?”

“I’m not; I’m just taking an…educated guess. She was your family right? Your precious baby sister. You two were together quite a bit when she was here, how mean you were to her though…it broke my heart to see the way you treated her.”

 **Nonsense…You fool!** He was testing Ui’s patience and every passing second he had to be careful otherwise he just might say something to put him on the stage…to be decapitated in front of all eyes; _humiliation._  
But then, Furuta offered Ui something that would change his heart and his ideals in ways that he should be repulsed by. 

“Say…what if she were never dead? You know Koori Ui, Koharu was never in the state you left her in – did you ever bother to check her pulse? She sided with those you hate; how about those ethics of hers?”

 

Once Ui had left the room, his face pale and sickly, Furuta couldn’t help but smile just a little bit. 

_What a desperate fool. Ah…_

“That was a little harsh…don’t you think?” Kanou said with a grin of his own, coming in from behind the shadows, “He’s been convinced she’s been dead this whole time and you tell him the truth of her state and her treachery? Ironic isn’t it?”

“Haha…Maybe so.”

“By the way…what was the story with Akita’s family? I’ve heard some rumours-”

“Brooke Akita?”

“No, Erica Akita, one of the Oggai.”

“Her?” Furuta looked intrigued by the doctor’s question, an answer he’d been meaning to answer, “Oh did you not hear? I sent V after her family…right after I returned from Cochlea, I figured as she’s a traitor to human kind she deserved some type of punishment…though the young girl was another perfect tool so I told V to take her in, she may come in handy later…” Indeed. The man had little sympathy for the feelings of others, though to blame him would also be a crewel statement as he didn’t even have that experience of love and be loved. It was always either one sided or not there at all. “As a Washuu…I guess I have my ways.”

“Whatever you say,” Kanou sighed, about to return and leave back to his work, only to be stopped by Furuta once again,

“Oh and by the way…how is my child?”

“Growing well…he’s going to need a new glass soon.”

\--

Well…tonight was the night.   
Tonight was the night that Ryoichi was finally going to do it.   
He was going to be a changed man after all of this.   
He was going to be new, reformed…maybe a little bit refined.   
Yes, today he was finally going to confront…and confess to Koharu Ui.   
But luckily for him, he had some assistance from his friends to get him sorted out…well, sort of. 

“It’s so short!” The red head sat in front of a mirror, bewildered with how much hair Touka had actually trimmed off, “D-Do I even look like myself still?! Will she recognize me?”

“Well I wouldn’t have dated you with that scruffy mess you had before…” Touka sighed, fixing his part, “I think I did a good job.” And she did, actually, considering the horror stories he’d heard from Hinami…

“Yeah…and now,” Karren also had a little something extra in store, handing him a small bouquet of roses, “Here, give these to her.”

“Alright…” he gulped taking the flowers, nearly dropping them, shit!

“And sit up straight!”

“Right!”

“And…don’t say anything stupid…Koharu’s a bright girl and honestly…I think she could do better.”

“Karren!”

“Just kidding.” She smiled, smacking his shoulder and observing his fresh new hair cut, “But she’ll love the cut…you look…you look just how you did when you first showed up.”

Ah…that was a long time ago…really, did he throw the clock out the window or what? Well no windows down here.  
But he was going to do it…he was going to get the girl he’s been admiring for…how long now? Almost 2 years at least…

“Well…I’ve got to meet with Kaneki tonight so please don’t come crying to me if she rejects you..” Touka sighed.

 

The two women sent him on his way, bushing off his attire and fixing him up…it was hard not to acknowledge the laughter coming from Nishiki who’d been eavesdropping. Whatever, even if he wanted to turn back and call it a day…he was going to finish this mission, success or failure. Come hell to high water. 

But with his luck…of course it wasn’t going to go smoothly, even before he found her. It was as if something just popped out of the wall, right before he had the chance to see it, and tripped over it sending him to the ground and ultimately…landing on the roses and squashing them. Good thing Karren trimmed off the thorns.  
“Oww…” the redhead luckily didn’t managed to injure himself, but he was disheartened to see that his gift and _sentence starter_ had been demolished, all but one single rose that survived. The source of his trip was a leg…a leg that belonged to someone he was faintly familiar with. A teenaged girl, a ghoul once apart of Aogiri and often went by the name Hakatori, was sitting against the wall and had hardly even engaged him after she’d tripped him, “What was that for?”

The girl looked at him slightly, then turned her head away clicking her tongue, 

“I was bored and you’re an easy target.”

“I see…” Ryoichi was convinced he had a sign on his back that said ‘ _kick me_ ’. His bad luck was never going to give him a break…But still this girl ruined part of his confession…Oh well nothing to do about it now except find Koharu and hope for the best. 

“Hey, what’s with the petals everywhere?” Seido Takizawa asked, removing the hood of his black cloak off his head, glancing at Hakatori and Ryoichi; he probably put two-and-two together and figured she’d interrupted him, “Going on a date Ryoichi?”

“Trying to…” Picking himself up and fixing his hair, he continued on his way with the single rose in hand.

He eventually found Koharu, speaking with Marie and Brooke in one of the living areas.   
It was so hard to believe that he was friends with the people who were once trying to kill him...it was almost worth a laugh.   
But the blonde was the first to spot him, tapping the raven-haired girl’s shoulder and pointing his way and when she laid eyes on him, her jaw dropped.   
Was his hair…that different?   
Gulping and taking a breath, he slowly walked over to her, the rose behind his back.

“Hey Ryo…what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothings wrong!” He stuttered, though he could already feel sweat prickle his neck, “I just- I’m…I’m…You see, Koharu…I just…I wanted to-“ _damn it! Spit it out!_  
He could see in the corner of his eye Brooke rolling her eyes and marching away with Marie in tow, god he was embarrassing nature!  
But now at least it was just Koharu and he. They’d been alone together but this time for a bigger purpose, so if he couldn’t use words like they do in the movies…he’s just get to the point and save himself from further embarrassment – if that was possible. 

“Koharu! I’ve…I know this might be random but as a man I need to get it off my chest as it consumes my thoughts everyday…” He could see that now she looked slightly intrigued, though a little confused, _was that a weird thing to say to her_? “I…I really like - no – I love you and I was hoping that maybe…you felt the same?” Shakily, he pulled out the rose from behind his back only to see that the head of it had gone missing…he’d squeezed it so hard that it broke! Lowering his head, he was just going to assume that she’d reject him…who’d want a guy like him who couldn’t fight, who couldn’t confess without fault, who everyone made fun of, who didn’t have a lot to give in materialistic things. He was just a plain, unlucky ghoul. But just before he turned away, Koharu started to giggle and then she started to laugh so hard he could see tears starting to form in her eyes! Did she take this as a joke, his feelings for a joke?! Squeezing his hands into tight fists, he was about to shout something undesirable before she finally spoke up…only her laughter started to fade and she was just…crying,

“Ryoichi…I…I had no idea you like me in that way…” She said, swaying her body to the side, “I mean…I never expected a confession…I’m flattered but…”

“But what?”

Koharu used her sleeves to dry her tears and then glanced at him once again, a smile on her face but she didn’t seem happy, 

“Ryo…you’re the first person to ever…confess to me out of your own will…but there’s something you should know…you see, I joined the CCG to get out of a marriage – like my brother did – and well…I don’t think I’m in a good place right now to go into a relationship…I mean just look around.”

“You’re speaking like I just asked you to marry me!” He just wanted to finally confess his feelings and instead…she was treating it like an entirely different subject, one that he wasn’t wanting to jump into either but he could assume this was her way of shooting him down,

“I’m not speaking that way at all!” she barked, only catching herself and calming down again, “look…I love you too Ryo…you’re a nice guy and…you’ve really showed me that ghouls-“

“Is it because _I am_ a ghoul?”

“No…did you forget that I’m a ghoul now too? Just listen, I said I love you…it’s just I don’t think I’m ready right now…I’m not in the mind set…”  
 _Not in the mind set, huh?_ Well she did say that she loved him too - not liked him - _she loved him_. But even that wasn’t what he wanted to hear…he wanted her to be in love with him right now, maybe he was being the bratty child, but he’d gotten himself so worked up and so prepared for this that he couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened. Suddenly, Koharu came a little closer to him and nearly made him jump when she reached up to touch a piece of his newly cut hair; she smiled,

“You know I’m not saying ‘no’…right? When the time is right…I’ll give you my real answer.”  
The offer will always be on the table…and if he had to play the chase for a little while longer...he would because he didn’t want to loose her. Even if he thought he wish was ridiculous.

\--

“Hey, Kimura,” In the Qs’ office, one that felt like it was getting smaller and smaller everyday; Tooru Mutsuki approached the pinkette with a mission of his own and a mindset that would be troubling to change, “You know where they are…don’t you?”  
Carma turned around to face him, next to Mutsuki was Aura who seemed unusually quiet himself…but she knew exactly what he was trying to get her to say…and she was willing to give it up. 

“Yes, Of course I do…do you?”

“I have an idea…” 

“Why do you care if I know?” She tried to swivel her chair back to her work only to be stopped by a knife that got lodged under it – just missing her legs. But it didn’t frighten her…of Mutsuki wanted to fight Carma would give him one he would have to work for, but by his body language that wasn’t why he stopped in to visit her. Letting out a quick sigh, she stood up from her seat and decided to face him where he was tossing another knife in his hands,

“I was thinking that maybe you’d want to hit two birds with one stone…Look, Senpai is being held back by a girl while your Masaya is being cooped up in a cage by that other man, right? Say we all go there together and we take back what belongs to us…what do you say?” Mutsuki held out a hand to her to join them, and as tempting as it was, not even she could escape that devilish thought of being able to keep Masaya to herself.   
Getting rid of Ryo would destroy the reason Masaya would need to stay back.  
Grinning slyly, the pinkette placed her own hand in his and nodded,

“:re was that name…you’ve been there before right?

\--

After his attempt at the first confession, he needed a little pick-me-up…and luckily Masaya was just the guy to know a way to do it. 

“I’m sure Touka will make you a coffee to cheer you up…even if we interrupt her talk with the king.”

“When you say it like that I feel like the idiot…”

“Don’t…But I think you were kind to understand and respect her wish.” 

That was a lie, Ryoichi didn’t understand her wish at all, why wasn’t she ready now…Woman were strange and yet he was so fascinated by this one. Oh well, coffee was on his mind and that should make him liven up…hopefully.   
When the two men walked into the café, they found the king and Touka at the back counter bar with Kaneki spilling his coffee and Ryoichi swore he heard someone say ‘virgin’…who was the virgin?

“Oi!” Touka looked as if she was about to kick them out when she spotted them approaching, that was until she saw Ryoichi’s face an clearly got the message and grumbly heading back to the coffee machine, “She dumped you then?”

“Sort of…” Ryoichi sighed, leaning over the counter in self pity, though Kaneki needed to be caught up on this subject,

“Who rejected who?”

“Koharu rejected me.”

“Koharu…Koharu Ui? Wow…” the king scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to comfort a broken hearted young man, “Well…she’s an Ui.”

“Snobbish taste in men?” Touka asked, placing a cup in front of the red head as well as two more for the other men, “Or was she just not interested?”  
He then went on to explain what had happened and what Koharu had said to him. Kaneki said he believed it but Touka thought it was rude how she could selfishly turn him down after all of his efforts, “at least I finally got you to cut your hair…that’s the good part.”

 

But soon, the quartet was interrupted by the sound of the bell ringing above the shop’s door…two figures walked inside and by Masaya’s and Kaneki’s shock…stood both Carma and Mutsuki who looked…thrilled to see them.

“Sensei! Carma was right, you are here.”

\--

“You see this, Mizuki, this is the sun. It’s made out of hydrogen and helium and other gasses like Carbon and Oxygen…and a little bit of nitrogen. I know it’s pretty but never look directly at it or you’ll hurt your eyes…I know from Experience.” Miyuki sat with Mizuki on the floor both on their stomachs and looking at one of his large, exclusive space books that provided some large pictures of planets, stars, and universal theories. Though really the pictures were just the important factor as the baby laughed every time her uncle figure pointed to one of the planets, “and we live here on Earth, its made out of iron, magnesium, aluminum-“

“Stop that Mikage…” Keijin sighed, walking into the room and shaking his head at the sight of this _science class_ , “don’t fill the kid’s head with that stuff…otherwise her first word will be something off the periotic table…”

“What’s wrong with that? I’m giving her a head start! Just you wait she’ll be the only one in kindergarten who will be able to recite it! As well as be able to answer the question…’why the sky is blue?’…Which actually is because-”

“Oh yeah? Well, she just spit up all over that page you’re on…” and oh how hard Keijin was trying not to laugh as Miyuki didn’t know if he should cry himself or keep the child from crying when he saw the state on the section they were on; baby puke was now covering Mercury. 

“What’s with all the noise – who’s crying? Is that you Mikage?”

Mizurou came back just in time from the supermarket to stock up on diapers and was able to resume his parenting role…and to clean up his child…unfortunately Miyuki couldn’t say the same for his book as he attempted to clean it.

“That’s my girl…” Mizuoru had failed to keep his own laughter at bay as he watched is friend sulking in the loss of a piece of his book. 

“Your kid deserves a metal for that.” The blonde man said as Mizurou took a seat across from him trying to clean his daughter’s face, though Mizuki had a set of uncontrollable giggles as Miyuki ripped out the puke-covered page, trying to hold back his tears. 

 

Furuta had requested that Michiko return back to work at the CCG, though earlier then her leave requested so that she could start physical training and getting back into shape for operations again. Thus leaving Mizuki in the rotating hands of her father and uncles, which the child didn’t seem to have an issue with as they all kept her amused and well looked after. On the weekends, when Michiko was home, she’d have Hairu over for coffee whilst their children spent some time together…but most of that time they never had a chance to get to their coffee’s as Masanori kept them on the move, especially now that he could crawl and find his way into things! One time, Hairu said she found him stuck under the bed and another day on the balcony! That worried Michiko and Mizurou into thinking that if that boy didn’t grow out of his mischievousness that he was going to lead their daughter into mischief if they really did become friends one day. 

 

“Hey everyone…” as the front door opened once again and a very drained looking Michiko emerged into the Suzuya Squad’s living room. Behind her, Juuzou and Hanbee looking a little livelier; then again they weren’t in the same training mode, “what’s wrong Mikage?”

“Never mind him, how are you Michi?” Mizuoru got up from his seat, walking over to his wife and planting a kiss on her lips. Mizuki squealed and reached out towards Juuzou and was placed into his arms,

“Come on Mizuki, uncle Hanbee’s going to make some homemade pudding!” and once the other members of his squad followed in behind him towards the kitchen, the couple took the moment of isolation from the group to have a moment to themselves.

“Honestly the CCG…it’s not the same.” The light brunette said, making her way over to the sofa and having a hard time making eye contact with her husband, twiddling her fingers in her lap, “Furuta…he’s destroying it from the inside out.”

“I know…” Mizurou sighed taking a seat next to her, “He…he hasn’t hurt you has he-“

“No! Not at all but…It’s just…”

 **It’s loosing it’s purpose**.   
_We’re not just killing ghouls anymore.  
It’s not just a privet organization.  
It’s secretive.  
It’s a scary place._

No ounce of memories could change anyone’s new perspective of it. It’s all rock bottom now.   
But the Suzuya squad had been wondering the same thing…what are they fighting for anymore?

\--

Kaneki and Touka just started wide eyed at the two who stood at the doorway of the café, both of them giving off an uneasy feel just by their body language as they smiled, in an intoxicated kind of way. But of course there was no alcohol reeking off of their bodies.   
Mutsuki was the first to move in, eying Kaneki greedily and even tried to reach out for him,

“You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to find you again…I guess I owe Carma for this…but why did you leave?” He obviously knew the answer, but the king shook his head failing to find the words to reply with and instead slowly backed away, although never turning his back to him, “WHY?”

“And Masaya…” Carma came up close behind the green haired man, her eyes empty and face so pale she almost seemed translucent, “you left me…again.”

“Masaya has his own duties just as much as I do now…” Kaneki said, trying his best to stay calm, “after what has happened…we can’t go back to our pasts.”

“I’m only in your past?!” Mutsuki screamed, taking a bold step foreword and now eyeing Touka who was coming from behind the counter to stand next to the king, “Sensei…!”  
But instead of him being the first to attack, it was Carma who nearly sliced Ryoichi’s head off – she transformed so quickly that if you blinked, you missed it – but luckily for Ryo, he too had pulled out his kagune quickly enough to act as a shield on instinct…only instead of a shield…his other wing had been cut clean and never had he screamed so loud for such a quick moment,

“You’re the reason Masaya didn’t come back to me…” Carma said, observing the wing that fell to the floor, stomping it and causing it to disintegrate into ash, “and with you gone…he’ll have to choice but to be with me again!”

“You crazy bitch!” Touka was the next one to one to engaged, unleashing her Ukaku and attempted to launch towards the pinkette, only a knife seemed to catch her off guard – rather in her arm! “Argh…!” 

Now against Mutsuki with Kaneki and Ryoichi screaming in pain on the floor, it was up to Masaya to take on Carma…something ever since Rushima he was hoping he could avoid.  
Here they are, together again, only this time in a less desirable way. 

“Just remember Carma...You picked on us.”

“Tulips and roses, rain and sun, all the little things that made my garden grow…but nothing grew without your tough, chipped hands to break the ground!” She mused, attacking him head on, only his Bikaku was quick to coil around it…but she was sure stronger then she looked because she was able to slip back and try again, only this time attempting to attack by hand, something that even Masaya struggled with. Maybe it was his conscience that was holding him back…knowing this was Carma made him reluctant to fight back, he didn’t want to be the one to hurt her again; clearly he’d done that enough. 

“I didn’t leave you, I welcomed you with open arms to come with me!”

“And side with ghouls! I’m not so foul!”

“Carma…I am a ghoul! Does that mean I’m foul too?”

“Foul as waiting for a tomato to ripen!”

She managed to break through one of his blocks, her Koukaku piercing right into his side! It stung, but it was nothing that couldn’t heal.  
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, not for the right reasons, but that meant he couldn’t see Ryo, all he could hear was his wheezing but he could tell that Carma was looking for an opening to get to him too. Masaya had to think of a way to divert her away, distract her even for a second!

“Carma…If you’re going to be mad…if you’re going to hate anyone…hate me!” He managed to shove her away, nearly impacting Kaneki, “Don’t hate Ryo…it’s not his fault the way he-“

“It is my fault!” Ryo called from the floor, his entire body was shaking as he managed to get onto all fours, “It is! My idiocy has led me down this path! Touka wouldn’t have to- Karren wouldn’t- YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO STAND OVER MY DEAD BEAT BODY!” That got him, that got Masaya to look away from Carma and she took that opportunity to go after Ryoichi! 

“NO!” Masaya had no choice, he was going to hate himself for doing this for the rest of his life but it was the only way he was going to stop her madness. Just before she managed to reach the other ghoul, Masaya lunged his Bikaku towards the pinkette, slicing a clean hole through the center of her back forcing her body to drop to the floor instantly.   
He was right, never hated himself so much, but at least she stopped.  
Coughing up blood, next to the redhead, the pinkette’s eyes fell upon Masaya who was quick to her side, hesitant to move her.

“Masaya...” Ryoichi eked, glancing over,

“Can you walk Ryo?” The broad man asked, grabbing onto a table cloth, yanking it clean from the table and carefully wrapping it around Carma,

“I…Think so.”

“Then let’s get going.” Carefully lift up the young woman who was slowly loosing her life, the two ran down to the basement as it clearly looked as if Kaneki and Touka could handle themselves.   
Mutsuki didn’t even seem to care that his coworker had just been swifted away…how corrupted was the CCG?

 

Bringing the woman down, Marie and the zero squad kids were the first one’s they managed to run into, though not stopping to say hello. Ryo however, was in so much pain, he nearly fell on top of the small group, depending on Marie and Rikai to hold him up.

“Was- is that Carma?” the blonde asked; jaw nearly hitting the floor, “what’s-“ 

“Find Banjou!” Ryoichi stuttered towards Shio and Yusa, both seemed just as shocked but obeyed. 

“What happened to you?” Marie asked, helping him to his sleeping quarters, “Where’s Touka?”

“Stop asking so many fucking questions…”

 

Banjou was luckily able to heal Carma for the most part, for what he couldn’t heal…her body would be able to do on it’s own.   
As for Ryoichi…he no longer had a kagune; _Unlucky_.

But GOAT’s luck seemed to just fall under itself.  
Mutsuki had burned down :re, forcing everyone to evacuate and find a new underground hide away and headquarters, struggling to avoid the CCG who always seemed to be on their tails, now with a new threat identified as the Oggai. But eventually, they did find a place where they lost track. Dark and isolated, but it would shelter them for now. 

Koharu couldn’t believe what this world had been becoming. GOAT was created to merge ghouls and humans…create something that god forsaken Arima Kushio had wanted…using Kaneki as his predecessor.   
She had to find her brother…she had to find a way to the CCG without getting her head removed from her shoulders. How exactly she was going to do that? She had yet to find an answer.

 

“Kou?” Brooke glanced down at the older child that Naki had seemingly managed to save from the CCG, “Huh…what’s your story?” she asked him coldly,

“My parents were killed by the CCG…” he replied, tugged his hat down on his head and narrowing his eyes towards the young woman who instead ruffled the front of his hair. 

Kankei had accepted him into GOAT; although everyone still felt a little uneasy and Brooke and Marie were ultimately the one’s ordered to keep watch over him for now. Naturally, Shio, Rikai, and Yusa also were curious of this new fellow.

“I’m sorry to hear that…” Marie said, trying to offer him a smile and reaching out her hand, “But…we’ll make sure you’re safe here. Just stick with us, alright?”

“Sure, whatever you say…Blondie.” He said, pushing her hand to side and receiving a dirty glare from Yusa. But it didn’t seem to bother Marie; she was probably just going to brush it aside…though really she shouldn’t be tolerating such disrespect, “So are you going to give me a tour or what?”

“You want a tour?” Brooke raised a brow suspiciously, “of what?”

“Gotta know where the bathroom is?” Shio asked, pointing down one of the halls, “There’s one down there.”

“Shut- I mean…I’m talking to Blondie…she’s in charge.”

“My name’s Marie Kitami…but I really don’t think a tour is a great idea. Besides you’ll be just fine with us, now come on, we’ll show you to your sleeping place.” She said lightly pushing on the boy’s back to get him walking, “Kou, you’re staying with these three, you’re close in age with them right?”

“Do I have to?” Kou asked, pretending to puke,

“Hey, cut that attitude!” Brooke said, Marie backing her up,

“That’s right, Kou. Shio’s super nice, Rikai’s a sweet girl, and Yusa is very friendly too so I’m sure you’ll all be friends in no time. Now, off to bed with you!”


	27. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (nsfw warning)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW warning!!
> 
> Well with Valentine's day being tomorrow..I thought I'd include a little something extra in this chapter ;) (But if you're not into that kinda thing then feel free to skip that section!) 
> 
> Please enjoy and thank you <33333

Even days after the incident, when they managed to all get settled in to GOAT’s new headquarters, not once had Masaya left Carma’s bedside as she was recovering. Guilt was only half of the factor as to why, but he mostly wanted to talk to her, he wanted to get clarification, he wanted to share his thoughts and his reasoning to reassure her.  
He shared everything with Carma, he didn’t care how messed up she’d become, he decided that trying to hide his secrets wasn’t going to solve anything and she out of everyone deserved to know about his inner conflicts. Carma in return seemed to follow along with him; she listened to him and didn’t go against his words once, she didn’t fight or resist, she just sat there and took it…facing reality head on.

His father had a former partnership with Kanou? 

“Do…you see now Carma?”

“Yes…I do.”

“I didn’t want to leave you…I didn’t want to lie for so many years…I did it to protect you.”

Masaya’s father had once been working along side Kanou on different mutation projects, secretly working on ghoul technology even before he was born. However, when his father fell through on a promise to hand over information on DNA mutation that he’d collected and as a result, he was killed and Masaya was later hunted and used as a lab rat to be tested on, “Carma…I love you more then I love life itself…It breaks my heart to think that you did this in order to avenge me…” Taking off his hat and placing it in his lap, he let out a tired sigh and looked into her magenta eyes, “I can’t even blame you, I would’ve done the same if I were you…But you should know, things have changed…I’ve met new people – sure they’re ghouls – but alive like anyone else. They…they depend on me as much as I depend on them…but please don’t hate Ryoichi, it’s not his fault why I didn’t go with you or stopped trying to find you - I never stopped. He’s been a friend as I have to him. But I’ll stop loving you, no matter what you’ve done…”

“Masaya…” She eked out, shaking her head trying to hold back her tears, “I…I’m sorry…” Gently, without another word, he leaned over her bed and embraced her, holding her so tight that he feared that he might loose her if he let go. She had done some unforgiving things, so had he, but evenly…they’ve done some good things too. If they were going to have to live in this messed up world…at least they’d be together this time for their twist of fate.

“Let’s make a promise,” he said, kissing the top of her forehead, “let’s promise to not lie anymore, to not hold anything back…to be completely honest with each other.”

Lying doesn’t do anyone justice, that was a fact. It only leads to bigger, more unforgiving lies and to deeper heart ache…if they could avoid that they would now. 

“Okay…I promise…but if I’m being honest with you, would you hate what I have to say?” 

“Never.”

“Well, I’m no longer human either…Masaya, I can’t even eat human food anymore!”

Her purity might not have been there anymore, but neither was his. He still loved her and through her tear stained cheeks…he’d be sure to give her all the love she’d been missing from him for so many years. Shaking his head, he leaned down a little so that their lips could meet.  
Her lips were chapped and scratchy but to him they felt like velvet and silk, he struggled to keep away from her as he soon found himself on top of her tiny frame on the less then suitable bed. But he wanted her so bad, they’d wanted each other, and in the heat of this moment of their love through their kisses Masaya felt himself reaching up to unbutton his shirt. His muscular upper must have surprised Carma as she stared wide-eyed at his chest in awe, even hesitating to run her fingers along his firm muscles. 

“You’ve…gotten so strong.” He heard her mutter under her breath, then slowly started to undress herself and as soon as he laid eyes on her fit figure and beautiful, modest breasts, 

“So have you…” Masaya had a hard time controlling his emotions, just the sight of her drove him and instantly fell on top again attached at the lips, though this time a little more forceful as she helped guide his hands up to touch her. He loved her so much as was clear she felt the same…while else would they haven given themselves away for the better benefit of the other?  
Masaya gently bit her shoulder, grunting as he entered her and Carma let out a soft but stiff gasp, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her and urged him to follow through. The rocking and creaking of this unforgiving bed made it difficult for their vocals to keep quiet – this being a first time for the both of them. In its entirety, Masaya could smell her natural fragrance again just like he remembered, roses and pollen, sweet and yet made you feel like you were swept away by its intensity. Masaya leaned his face into her neck as soon as he could feel the pinkette start to arch her back, gasping as they finally reached their climax, both covered in sweat; his vision was even blurred.  
Still she didn’t let go of him, Carma held on tighter as they both tried to catch their breath again and once he was able to see her porcelain face again, he could see that she was smiling happily…genuinely. 

“Carma…” he whispered in her ear, “Once things calm down…Let’s get married.”

Once they rested and were clothes again, Carma and Masaya decided to leave that little room for a while and meet with some of the other GOAT members; the pinkette wanted to apologize for the things she’d allowed to corrupt her; as well as let out some important information she had on hand; some that the King himself thanked her for.

 

But who surprised Carma amoung all the faces, were two that Masaya took a personal attachment to as well.

“Who…are they?” Carma asked, glancing down at two children who’d just ran up to her Masaya calling him ‘ _Onii-chan_.’

“They’re umm…the kids I was telling you about. The one’s I rescued from the lab with me.” He then waved the children to come closer so they could meet his new fiancée - a little fact they were keeping between them for now, though these kids were a little hesitant in front of Carma, “Don’t act weird you two…come meet Carma.”

“Oh…so she’s the girl you’ve been talking about forever…huh?” Aurelee asked,

Masaya’s face went beet red when the girl spoke so casually about his lady interest, but it wasn’t a lie at least and Carma seemed honored and for once, happy and alive. 

_Maybe, just maybe…the four of them could be a family once this war was over._  
Masaya would find them another house out in the country,  
The kids would have plenty of space to grow and run outside without having to worry about hiding,  
And Carma, she could grow the biggest and most extravagant garden. 

“Hey, put your hat back on, Masaya,” the pinkette giggled, taking the western hat from his hands and, with a struggle to reach, placed it on his head, “There, now I’m ready for a kiss.”

\--

 

“Look, a woman’s heart is a sacred place Yusa, you can’t just keep beating around the bush, be direct with her instead of playing these little games,” Yusa Arima, finally feeling left out of options, had turned to Koharu for advice on the beautiful Quinx that he had failed time after time to get to know better, “I’ve known Marie for a long time and if it’s one thing she appreciates, it’s directness.” 

“Tell us something we don’t know,” sighed Shio, sitting at the edge of one of the beds, “Me and Rikai have tried everything to get them together but nothing has worked! She’s playing around the rules!”

“What rules?! You guys don’t even tell me when you’re planning this stuff…” Yusa groaned, “I just…I just wish I could tell her how I feel…but I’m worried that if I do she’ll laugh or think I’m joking…I mean…I know I’m younger then her but…I still love her…Koharu, do you think it’s weird?”

“No not at all.” Koharu replied, putting a hand on his shoulder, “You’re never too young to love someone. Having a longing for that companionship is something to actually be admired and you want to know what I think, I think that Marie would be happy to hear that from someone like you-“ But Koharu was cut short once, speak of the woman herself, Marie burst into the room in a frenzy, her face a mix between worried and frantic, “Marie, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t find Kou! Is he with you?”

“Kou?” Shio glanced around the room, seeing that one of their roommates was missing, “Umm…nope we’re missing a Kou,”

“Shi- I mean…I’ve got to find him!” 

“Wait, Marie, I’m coming too!” Yusa called chasing after her,

“Yusa?”

“He’s…He’s my room mate,” _**a bratty room mate**_ , “so, let me come.”

“We’re coming too!” Koharu added, walking up next to her, “We’ll-“

“ **God Damn it Marie** , you were supposed to be watching him this time!” Brooke marched down the same hallway with Ryoichi and his father behind her, 

“I didn’t loose him on purpose, honest!”

“Well he got Tsukiyama good…luckily Hirako reigned him in…”

“Huh what?! Where is he now?”

Brooke and Ryo glanced at each other, then back at the group motioning them to follow,

“Come on and we’ll show you.”

 

In the end, it turned out that keeping their guard up about the kid was a good thing, he wasn’t a ghoul at all and instead was one of those new Oggai created by the CCG; orphaned children and sent as a spy. They were using Hajime Hazuki – his real name – as a sort of insider to get into GOAT. A clever move on the dove’s part but certainly a strain for the group as now they had to deal with him somehow.

“There he is,” Shouhei said, guiding the small group towards a cell where Kaneki was standing outside of, the door rattling and yelling emerged. 

“KEN KANEKI!”

But Kaneki made no further implication to move any closer when he saw the group coming, Marie instantly lowering her head and apologizing, 

“I’m so sorry sir I just found out what happened! I didn’t mean to loose him!”

“Never mind Kitami,” the king guided the blonde over to the cell so she could have a look inside, the kids behind her, “We got him before he could do too much damage so at least that’s in our favor.”  
Hajime was like a loose canon inside the tiny room, maybe like a crazy dog, and while everyone looked inside the cell with anger, Marie looked at the child with sympathy.

_You’re just like me._

“What’s Barbie doing here?” Hajime snarled, “I thought I ditched you.”

“Hey, don’t call her that!” Yusa snapped back, nearly shoving the door if not for Shio who held him back by his shoulders.  
But Hajime was angry; he had fuel added to his fire, that’s why he was resisting, why he was fighting. Marie understood how that felt…and she wanted to let him know he wasn’t alone; this poor troubled child. Glancing at Kaneki, she put in her request to go inside the cell,

“Please, sir, please let me talk with him…”

“Kitami…?”

“I think I might be able to connect with him.” Maybe if Hajime knew that there as someone who understood his pain on a different level, maybe he wouldn’t be so angry, maybe he wouldn’t want to hurt others in the process of his own inner struggles. It might have been a silly, airheaded thought of hers but if there was some way that she could help she was more then willing to give it a shot, even against her resenting friends,

“Marie, you’ll get mauled!” Brooke warned,

“I can defend myself just fine. He’s only a kid.”

“Kid or not he has our abilities!” Koharu added trying to get her friend to come to her senses,

“I know. But I have to try…”

But the one who was most against this idea was Yusa. Ever since this new kid had showed up he’d always been a little bit uneasy around him and after what stunt he’d recently tried to pull; he didn’t want Marie to be risking herself alone!  
However, Kaneki ultimately agreed to letting her go in and her one request was for them to leave the area, or at least out of her sight so that Hajime would believe it really was just her. The door to the cell was closed just as soon as it was opened to allow the blonde to get in just in time; the boy inside eyed her with disinterest.  
But on the outside, she could hear Yusa’s screams as the group pulled him out of their sight. 

“HOW COULD YOU AGREE TO LETTING HER GO IN WITH – WITH THAT – **THING?!** ” The young Arima pulled out of his friend’s grasps, ready to race back to the cell if not for Shouhei and Ryo holding him back, “HE’S GOING TO KILL HER!”

“Yusa calm down-“ Brooke also tried to interfere, only to get yelled at by the boy as well,

“AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY ANYTHING! YOU’RE ALWAYS SO MEAN TO HER SO OF COURSE YOU WANT TO SEE HER DEAD!” It was hard to make Brooke embarrassed, but somehow Yusa’s words seemed to startle her and force her to turn herself away from him,

“No I don’t Yusa…I don’t hate Marie…”

“Please Yusa, she’s going to be alright…this is Marie after all.” Shio said, standing next to his friend, “She’s-“

“Shio’s right,” Koharu then stood directly in front of him, leaning down a little so that when the men released him he ran into her arms where she held him, even against his screams and resistance, “Marie’s smart, despite how she sometimes behaves, she’ll be fine…you’ve just got to believe in her Yusa, just believe.”

 **Believe?!** What was there to believe anymore?! That the world was ending as they knew it?! Eventually caving in, the boy fell to his knees in Koharu’s grasp and cried.

 

Hajime wasted no time and was quick to attack the blonde who entered his cell uninvited, his Rinkaku just brushing past her face before she was able to pull out her own nine-tail Rinkaku and pushing forward, trying her best not to impale him right off the bat.

“Hajime, let’s stop this…I want to talk to you!”

“There’s nothing to talk to me about!” he shouted attempting to get to her again only to be blocked and instead he was the one pushed back.

“Please, I don’t want to hurt you-“ Carefully, she tried to aim two of her kagune to his right side, only for him to use the opportunity to press foreword again! “Please, I understand how you feel…just stop this!”

“You don’t know what shit I’ve been through, Foxy!” he sneered, thinking that he was going to be able to defeat her easily, “a little blonde, pretty girl like you who’d forget her brain if it wasn’t inside her scull would never understand!”

Okay, once this was over she was going to be sure to rinse his mouth with soap. 

But if he didn’t want to do this the easy way, that was his choice, she had no issue doing it the hard way if she really had to. Letting out a sigh, she lunged herself at the boy, using all her tails and slicing into his kagune, his hands, his legs, and placing one just above his head for good measure and pinning him to the wall! Hajime let out a sudden wail and for once was the one to be afraid, rather _childlike_ and fitting. Marie kept their distance close by moving herself in, giving him no wiggle room around her and lifting his chin so that he was looking into her eyes. She grinned slyly; _fox-like_ indeed.

“I’m many things, Hajime, but I’m not forgetful…And now how about you be a good boy and sit to listen to **my story**.”

“If I say no?” He asked, only to have Marie force her tails deeper into his flesh making his breath short…but being this close, she spotted something glowing in his mouth and dug her fingers inside to yank out some type of…tracker on his tongue… “ **ArgH**!” She stomped on it and reluctantly broke it, watching as his ripped muscle inside his mouth started to heal.

“Then first I’ll rip your arms off, then your legs...and maybe rip off your face!” She sang as her smile started to grow, “stop acting like such an ungrateful child…and please choose carefully.”  
Hajime decided to put up the white flag this time, clearly seeing that in this small space he’d be no match for her.  
Taking this defeat poorly, cowering and sitting on the small bed while watching as his wounds slowly started to heal with the young woman sitting next to him. She was ready to tell him her story, of course with other ears listening to her from the other side.

\--

 _Like Marie said, she never forgets._  
She clearly remembers the story her father had told her when he was alive about the incident that happened to her mother; though he only ever told her it once. 

Marie’s parents weren’t rich and were often living off the bare minimum in Tokyo. Small living, small food budget, but they had an enormous amount of love for one another. Honoka Kitami and Hayato Kitami owned a small bakery where they made baked goods and all kinds of Japanese sweets, getting up at insane hours just to be sure that they made all their best sellers just in time for the morning sales. Honoka was a beautiful woman with long, flowing locks of blonde hair and brown eyes, she had studied in France to be a culinary artist and had all kinds of knowledge of making French pastries and goods. Her husband, Hayato was a short but fit man who specialized in Japanese sweets, quickly picking up on his wife’s specialties. Unlike his cheerful and sweet wife, Hayato was cold and slightly rough with very little patience – which is why he never dealt with customers directly very often. They made everything from cupcakes to large wedding cakes, bread to biscuits, buns to scones, you name it they had it.  
But eventually, Honoka conceived her very own _little bun in the oven_ and that simple joy was enough to motivate the couple to work extra hard to be sure they could give a better life for their child.  
However, one late evening after closing shop for the day in the early spring, Honoka went into labor. Of course they were going to the hospital by taking a cab, but as the roads became jammed from a closed intersection, the couple were forced to get out and walk since the hospital wasn’t too much farther from where they were at the time. The mother was determined to make it by foot if she had too!

“Come on, Honoka, we’re just about there.” Hayato said, helping his wife out of the car,

“I’ll be fine” His wife heaved, her long blonde locks falling over her face, “but maybe we can take a short cut…” desperate, the couple found a short ally way to cut through that would give them a direct walkway to the hospital, however, doing so in a foolish manner without being aware of the dangers that lurked.  
It only took one second for that danger to make its move on them, swift and instant. Hayato saw something, a quick blur run past his corner vision in the dark, and quickly he felt the grip of his wife’s hand loosen as she fell under him…something had cut her legs off!

“HONOKA!” the man fell next to her side, only to see that swift blur run by them once again and swiped one of her legs with it, “HEY STOP!”  
Someone, a man with bright red hair and a burning flame that appeared to be coming out of his back stared at them with disgust…then behind him was a woman holding a small infant. That man handed her the leg and she took a bite out of it. _Ghouls…_

“Oh…I’m sorry I thought she was alone…I guess I’ll have to get rid of you too.” The man said, ready to attack Hayato when suddenly another one of these creature came out of the blue, however, this one appeared to be larger in size and was wearing some type of cloak and thick mask… _was it protecting them?_

“Shouhei…Hoshii…This isn’t your hunting ground.” 

“First name bases doesn’t apply to you, Yoshimura…” The red haired man said, taking a step in front of presuming his partner, “besides…we’re getting desperate for food.”

“There are other ways…Takeo.”

Hayato had never been so afraid, but not from the ghouls arguing in front of him, but for the fact that he was starting to loose his wife every moment as more blood started to flow form her body,

“Hono-“

“Hayato…I’m not going to-“

“Don’t say that, I’ll carry to you there! We’ll make it!”

“I won’t…make it.” She heaved, her face starting to go white, “please…please at least save our little one…”  
Facing reality was hard on him; he loved this woman more then his own life! But she was right, their child wouldn’t live if the mother didn’t…and she was already starting to fade on him. There was no way they’d make it past these ghouls and taking the long way…it just wouldn’t work! Hayato had to act fast; he had to get the child now! Finding the first sharpest thing that was closest to him, he made the incision just below Honoka’s stomach and he cried as he saw her own tears fall.  
The ghouls, Yoshimura and Shouhei started to argue and eventually fight with their strange weapons attached to their bodies. That one ghoul though made sure to keep it’s distance from Hayato as he made his way into his wife’s exposed body, searching for the baby and when he managed to carefully pull her out and its cries shot through the chilled air, it was clear to see that Honoka had finally let go of her own life. Quickly and carefully wrapping his daughter in his jacket, he kissed Honoka’s still hand and made a run out of the ally way and down the busy streets to get to the hospital, not daring to look back at what had happened to his wife’s body.

The CCG had later investigated the area, however, there was no trace of the ghouls or Honoka’s body.  
The baby was fine and healthy when she was taken in by the hospital, she was lucky to be alive…but it was her mother’s love that allowed her to live. Hayato had named her Marie, he wanted her to carry that grace, that elegance, and that natural beauty her mother had.  
And it was that day that Hayato Kitami had decided that he never wanted his daughter to have to live with that knowledge of ghouls, to never have to worry about the dangers of the world…to isolate her from pain.

Selling the bakery and taking only what he had in his position, Hayato had bought a small traditional Japanese home in the mountains, surrounded by forestry to hide his daughter away from anything to do with Tokyo and ghouls. They a TV but only watched movies to avoid any news reports and only one phone that was to be used in absolute emergencies. They grew their own food and raised their own chickens and a cow for milk, sometimes her father would head to the market on his own to get little things here and there but it was rare.  
Marie’s entertainment growing up there was her backyard, chasing the chickens – though the chickens actually chased her – playing with her dolls that she’d receive on her birthday, helping in the garden, listening to records, playing with their golden retriever Lucy, and her books that she loved her father to read to her over and over again. This life might have seemed odd or impossible to live by, but to Marie she didn’t know any better at the time.

“Read it to me again daddy!” young Marie said, pulling off her favorite book from the bookshelf and running outside to her father who was sitting on the porch, “please?”

‘ _The Wizard of OZ_ ’ had always fascinated her…being able to go on such an adventure always seemed so much more exciting. To her, this little home was her Kansas…and more then anything Marie wanted to be able to go over the rainbow and see a different world.

“Aren’t you tired of that story yet?” Hayato asked, lifting his daughter onto his knee, the long grass tickling her feet, “this is the 100th time.”

“No, you’ve only read it 87 times!” she giggled, 

“Really?! You’ve been keeping count?”

“Yup!”

“Wow…you’ve sure got a good memory…” he sighed, opening the book and began reading to her once again.

But that was just it, keeping a child isolated was never going to be a good thing and would end in rebellion eventually. She was no chicken to keep cooped up.

One morning, just as Marie was finishing breakfast, Hayato was heading out to the garden to do some harvesting of some of their vegetables that were ripe enough to eat, one of her personal favorite things was eating them the day they were picked!

“Looks like we’ll be having some steamed carrots with our dinner,” He said as she sipped on a glass of milk, Lucy whining for a piece of anything from the child’s plate,

“Yay! I love carrots!” 

“You're the only kid I know that get's excited about eating your veggies...Maybe you can help me out there in a bit?”

“Okay!” And just as her father left, she gave the dog the remaining crumbs and crusts sitting on her plate, her gaze falling out the window where part of the forest stood. The one, major rule she was told to obey was that she was to never, ever, go into the woods. Her father warned her that wild animals were roaming in there and could eat her…but really that never really scared her curiosity. If she ran into a wolf or a boar she’d shoo it away.  
But since the garden was on the other side of their house…perhaps today could be the day where she could take a small peak inside the forest…just a peak, “we won’t be long, right Lucy? Just a looksee.” 

Carefully, Marie followed by the golden retriever, left through the back door as to avoid running into her father that was already hard at work, digging for the potato’s and carrots in their garden. Once they managed to make it to the first set of trees, she was already intimidated by their size…but there apparently was a path that her father took down this forest that lead straight to market and village area; and she was quick to find it!  
Lucy barked, heading down the path alongside the young girl, though having to be hushed,

“Quiet Lucy, daddy will hear us and I’ll get in trouble…” She had to make this a quick visit…but she was 5 already and needed to have a look, stories and pictures could only give her so much satisfaction. Eventually, they reached a clearing where she found the overlook to the village below with scattered houses similar to hers and a small market with people marching around below, Wow! It might not have been much but Marie thought it was absolutely amazing! “Lucy, _I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore._ ”

But as one more thing of curiosity led to another, Marie proceeded down to the small market place, just to have a peak, and was impressed to see all the people in one place, all the shops, all the things to buy. Her father only ever came back with one or two things…how come he left all this stuff behind?!  
An old lady at one of the stands selling hair clips and other accessories called her over, complimenting her on her beautiful blonde hair. 

“You know, you’d look cute with something in that hair of yours,” and she pulled out a pair of red ribbons and assisted to help put them into two low pigtails, “ah, how sweet…would you like to keep them?”

Marie took a look into a small mirror that the lady gave her to have a look and indeed they were cute. But there was one little problem,

“I don’t have any money…”

“Oh, that’s okay. They look cute on you so you can have them if you’d like.”

“Really?” well if she couldn’t pay with cash, she’d pay with a smile, “thank you very much!”

But unfortunately, this little trip was going to have to end soon as she had to return home so her father wouldn’t worry. Waving good-bye, she and her dog started to make their way back up their own yellow brick road, she was singing along the way and completely unaware of what or who could have been following her.  
Getting back into the forest, close to her home now, in an instant, Lucy had stopped and stood alert, putting her nose to the air. Marie stopped singing her tune and glanced towards her pet, confused about the delay,

“Lucy, what’s wrong?” Then, a chill ran down the girl’s spine as if everything had just stopped in time and place. The forest started to feel empty even though she was completely surrounded…that was until Lucy started to bark in an off-path direction, “Lucy! Stop it!” But instead, the golden retriever started to snarl and eventually took off into the thicker part of the tree’s forcing Marie to run after her. Eventually, the dog had outrun her so far that she no longer knew where she was and called out to her again and again but received no response. But as she walked in a little further she saw a trail of red lead up to a dark figure in the woods, holding onto something that was casing the trail – **Lucy!**  
Without even having to think, Marie started to make a run for it out of the forest and for the first time in her life she actually felt fear. Tears pouring down the sides of her face, she screamed out for her father, though she wasn’t certain if her calls were reaching him.

“DADDY! DADDDYYY!” wailing, she was just about back into the clearing of the house when she tripped over a tree root where she was sent tumbling into the tall blades of grass, scrapping her knees and hands, “DADDY!”

“Marie?!” her father immediately rose from their garden, dropping the bucket full of vegetables, “MARIE?!”  
Coming straight to her aid, her father helped her to her feet and asked her what was wrong and why she was in the woods but she was more scared from seeing Lucy’s body then anything else and explained to him what she saw. Hayato knew exactly what she was talking about and ordered her to get inside and use the phone,  
“Do you remember what number I told you to use if something bad ever happened?”

“Yes…”

“Good, now go in there and dial it and tell them ghouls are here…they’ll be able to pick up our location.”  
Nodding, the young girl made her way inside the house and did as she was told, finding the old phone and inserting her fingers into the slots, the sound echoing inside of her mind as she then pulled the phone to her ear waiting for someone to pick up.  
Marie never knew what her father was doing when she dialed, but she did exactly as she was told and told the lady on the other end that they had ghoul’s on their property. _What’s a ghoul though?_

Marie didn’t even put the phone back on it’s perch and instead let it dangle by it’s cord as she made her way outside of the house again, searching for her dad, 

“Daddy? Daddy?!” But she couldn’t see him anywhere, the garden was vacant except for a few chickens and the porch was clear…but where she did find him was something she’d never forget…a ghoul, a short woman with scruffy red hair in a bun stood over her father’s body laughing in hysteria! 

“OH! Hello little girl…I’m sorry was that your dog I got earlier? It was snapping at me so I shut it up…” she then looked down at the lifeless Hayato, “and this…this is just my lunch.”

Marie’s height at the time was only a few inches taller then the grass so when she fell to the ground screaming and in tears, she was completely out of sight. The only thing distracting her was that of the buzzing sound of helicopters coming from above and landing on the other side of the clearing, men and woman all jumping out in full gear heading straight towards them! The ghoul however was quick to leave, paying her little mind and taking a piece of Hayato with her, 

“Sorry little girl, looks like I’ll be on the run for now.”

Marie stayed low in the grass, hiding herself in a huddle by holding her knees to her chest and picking up a chick that was walking through the grass. She really wanted someone to hold…and this baby chicken seemed to be the only one willing to give her comfort. Eventually, though, she did pop out her head from the grass to take a look around at the investigators that arrived on scene…there were even more people in her yard then there was at the market. They were scouting out the inside of the house and parts of the forestry, poking around the grass and eventually, a man spotted her and she ducked her head again,

“I found the girl!” he shouted, making his way over to her and wide eyed leaned down to her level, “Hey…are you the one who called? About the ghoul?”

“Yes…” she eked out, sitting in her knees and cupping the chirping chick to her chest gently, “She…She got my daddy…” and young Marie pointed towards where her father’s body laying in the grass, a couple of investigators had already seemed to find it and were covering it with a tarp.

The investigator with her, however, looked at her a little sadly, offering her hand to stand, 

“What’s your name?”

“Marie Kitami…” she sniffled, rubbing her eyes,

“You can call me Shinohara…I’m an investigator with the CCG…and we’re going to take you to safety.”

After that, Marie was taken in under the CCG as one of many orphaned children who’d also lost her parents to ghouls. It was certainly overwhelming to be placed in Tokyo, a giant city that had more people there then she was convinced the world had. She was forced to wear boring clothes and sleep in boring, cramped quarters. She was put into their academy and studied her basic subjects like any other child, although getting used to being so many people wasn’t a bad adjustment she’d say, it was nice to have company, even if they weren’t any meaningful relationships…and for a long time…Marie grew up feeling just…angry.  
_If this was over the rainbow…she was almost sorry she wished for it._

Although, it was also a sad place to grow up and she frowned for most of her time there or whenever she did manage to put on a smile, it was all an act.  
It was only once she was entered into the first academy she found a reason to smile again.  
She found Koharu…a lifetime friend.  
From that day on…Marie Kitami promised herself to look on the brighter side of things…because once you found that place over the rainbow…that little bit of happiness…you want to keep to keep it lasting forever…even if you have to dig for it. 

\--

When she finished with her story, she glanced down at Hajime who looked almost like he was reflecting – almost. 

“Don’t you…hold a grudge against Takeo…you know him right? Haven’t you ever-“

“You know Hajime…Koharu told me that once I came over to this side I’d see things a little differently and I wouldn’t have to be a ghoul to see it…”

“How aren’t you…Aren’t you pissed at him!? He killed your mom!”

Marie smiled at the child, leaning back a little bit and playing with the heel of her shoes, 

“Yes, he did…and I’ll always be a little angry about that, why wouldn’t I be? It was because of him that I never got to meet her…but, now that I’m older and I’m reflecting… and putting myself in his shoes…Takeo was only trying to support his family and even if he is a grumpy old man…he’s still a dad.”  
When she looked at the child again he had his head turned away and she could see that he was biting his lower lip,

“It ticks me off how you can be so…chill about that…”

“Oh I’m not!” Marie said aghast, leaping off of the bed with her hands in the air, “can’t you see this rage burning inside me?! The thing is, I just believe in trying to find a different solution other then fighting if I can…”

“Then why did you become an investigator in the first place?!” Hajime snapped, standing up next to her, “if you like ‘happiness’ and ‘peace’ so much…why did you choose to fight?! For your parents?! I DID!” Marie knew that the boy was agitated about this whole thing and in some ways she didn’t blame him. He was still so young…and yet his innocence had been stripped of him like he was part of the march in _Lord Of The Flies_. In a way, she was no different when she was his age, and it frightened her to think that so many others kids his age – and even younger – were going though the same dilemma. But he was hurting inside, she could sense it, he was torn.  
To think that she could’ve gone down the same road as him if she didn’t decide to see the brighter side of things, he was power hungry for revenge…unlike she who was too dependent on the guidance of others. 

_Guidance_ …that’s what this poor kid needed. She knew he was going to resist what she was about to do. Still, she leaned down just a little bit and wrapped her arms around Hajime and pulled him close to her and as she did so, he tried to push her away; but she wouldn’t let go. This was something that always made her feel safe and calm whenever her friends did it to her, whenever her father used to hug her. Against the resisting child, she spoke to him hoping he would listen once more,

“Hajime…I didn’t become an investigator because I wanted to get revenge for my parents…I did it because I had no where else to go, no one to show me other options. The CCG…you know they keep us in tight closure, to anger us, to motivate us to follow their lead…as children…it’s hard to tell left from right when angered.”

“SHUT UP! LET GO-“ He tried to bite at her, he tried to scratch at her and pull away and though it hurt her when he did so, she refused to let go. Her pain was nothing compared to his.

“I know it’s hard! I miss my father! I wish I had the chance to meet my mother! And I’m sure that you miss your parent’s just as much as I do…don’t you understand, Hajime?! We’re the same!” And as she felt blood trickle down her back from his bites, her grasp tightened around him, “so the world has wronged us, so we never had a chance when we were caught...We never knew any better! But we are not that innocent anymore, we can change, we can see things in a different light! All I’ve ever wanted was to just…go over the rainbow and see what’s behind it…But I know for certain that this isn’t it; not this war! But you know…finding that happiness won’t come easy and if we want our freedom, our graces, we’ll have to fight for it…Even though no battle we get ourselves into will ever make the dead proud. But until then, when the world is at peace, I’m just going to stay happy the best I can because it’s so much better to smile then try and give in to an empty heart…please Hajime…let me help you…”

 

On the other side of the cell door, Yusa could hear Hajime’s screams as Marie held onto him, trying to calm him down. But all the young Arima could do was sit in rage as he thought of all the pain that child was causing her…she was trying so hard to be nice, to try and break an understanding, to show that ungrateful little brat that he wasn’t fighting alone in his heartache…and all he was doing in return was throwing away that kindness and stepping on it like trash. Yusa swore in his mind…that if he ever had the chance to be one on one with Hajime…he’d make sure he’d never repeat these acts to anyone. 

 

“Let me help guide you…Please!” Marie managed to hold on long enough for the child to stop resisting her, to stop trying to fight back and eventually give into her, 

“Hajime…help me help you…” her shoulders and collar bone were stinging as her flesh was sliced into, blood seeping through her clothes. Perhaps, as a child, he managed to bore himself and gave up…that or he was listening – though she had a hard time believing that. 

“Why would you…want to help me?” He choked out, trying to not look at her, “I’m…I’m the enemy…”

“I’ll repeat myself…we’re the same. You and I…we’ve been through the same loops and jumps…I understand how you’re feeling and…I want to help, I want you to know that you’re not alone…I’m not saying you have to like me or be friends with me…I just want your understanding.”

“Yet you keep me in a cage…”

“You did a very _bad_ thing!” the young woman said, grabbing the child by his chin and forcing him to look at her, “You know…just because someone tells you to do something doesn’t mean you should do it…you have your own head on your shoulders…you know your rights from wrongs at this point I hope…” He didn’t respond, he just tried to roll his eyes again, “Hey look at someone when they’re talking to you!”

“You’re repeating yourself too much!” he said furrowing his brows, “it’s annoying.”

“Because I want it to get into your head!” She said, finally releasing her hold on his face and backing away, wincing a little. She had to show him in another way…she had to prove that he was still humane enough…but she would have to do it his way. Taking a deep breath, she stood at the back of the cell and leaned against the wall carefully and a bit ladylike, of course with a smile. “Alright…then just kill me then.”

“What?” Hajime looked at the girl quite horrified, probably because after everything she’d just said this wasn’t what he was expecting her to request of him…Good that’s the reaction she wanted.

“You heard me…If you’re too angry to listen…then just kill me if that will make you feel better.”

“Are you insane?!”

“Well I’m siding with ghouls now after all.” She watched as he walked in circles, deciding to either obey her command or to go against it. He looked as if he was about to go insane himself, “Well…what are you going to do?”

He stopped for a moment and he looked at her in an odd way before preparing his stance as if he was ready to attack.

And she closed her eyes…waiting for impact.


	28. Maneater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another very long chapter for this week! ;u; 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this chapter <33 Thank you!!

“Are you taking us in circles, Mayuzumi?” Erica Akita, riding behind the boy on her own bike as they were sent to search for Hajime immediately they lost his location. 

“No I’m not, Akita!” He shouted back at her, glancing at his GPS and shaking his head, “This thing is glitching on me!”

“This is why Mutsuki should’ve put me in charge…” she muttered out, she figured that since it was only the two of them sent out that she would be the better tracker, clearly she didn’t show case her raw talent enough for anyone to notice. But truth be told, Erica didn’t care if Hajime was alive, she was just hoping that if she found his body that she’d eventually be able to find _her sister._ but that would be a challenge with this pain in the butt in front of her. Mayuzumi was just as stubborn as she was…all the Oggai were.

 

Yusa could hardly tolerate what he just heard Marie request of Hajime; she wanted him to kill her?! **NO!** Rising from his seat outside of the door, he started to bang his fists on the outside of the door, screaming for this to stop but only to be pulled away by Hirako and Kaneki. No ounce of strength was enough to fight back and push his way through that door!

“NO! STOP! YOU CAN’T LET HIM KILL HER PLEASE!”

 

Marie heard the boy’s cries from the other side of the door and she felt her heart ache, it felt like it was being twisted in two directions…one for Hajime’s stake and the other for Yusa’s.  
But Yusa would have to wait…she was so close to making a break through with this troubled child, _one so very much like her_ , that she couldn’t just step down from her duty to try and get him to come around; she wouldn’t walk out on him.  
Not like how she did to her friends on Rushima.  
But as she stayed still with her eyes closed waiting for impact…nothing came her way. So when she opened them she witnessed a heavy breathing Hajime who’s knees shook under him and his own kagune was resisting himself.

“I...I can’t…I CAN’T DO IT!” He screamed, forcing his weapon to retreat back into his body, “I can’t….I can’t kill you…”

There it is. He is still human enough to fight back...against himself. With the smile still on her face, though a little more sympathetic, the blonde approached the child and once again leaned down to him so that she could hug him…though this time without a fight. He returned the hug, though a little awkwardly.  
Perhaps this was his first one since he lost his parents.  
Then his legs must have finally gave out on him as the two were brought down to their knees and again Marie could feel her healing wounds sting on her exposed shoulder…though this time it was from the salt in Hajime’s tears, the one’s he was trying so hard to hold back. 

“It’s okay, Hajime…it’s better to let it out then keep it in…” Crying didn’t make a person weaker or less of a solider; it just proved that they were alive, that they had emotions and feelings that had been held up for too long.  
Marie didn’t let go of Hajime as he cried on her in that dark, tiny cell; she stayed with him as long as he needed her there; not saying a word.  
This wasn’t the first time Marie Kitami had been someone’s shoulder to cry on…but it was the first time she’d felt this kind of relief…yet still overcome with concern for this boy’s well being.

“There there, crying feels better doesn’t it? Like a weights been lifted?” Once the boy had finished with his moment of tears, he pushed himself away from her, his eyes red and puffy from the salt, his face stained with trails of drying tears with a red hue to his face, “It’s a lie when they say big boys don’t cry…I think that everyone should cry when they feel they need to…I do it all the time! Sometimes when I’m happy and sometimes when I’m sad.”

“You’re a weird one, Blondie.” The boy sniffed, drying his eyes with is sleeve, a smile trying to break onto his face when he saw hers,

“Hey! I thought I told you not to call me that name…”

“Okay, then Foxy!”

“That’s just wrong and very inappropriate for someone your age! Just use my real name!” She laughed; touching her cheeks that were dampened by a small array of tears…ones that weren’t Hajime’s.

“Something wrong with you?”

“Nuh-uh…I just…it’s been a long time since I’ve been useful…and an even longer time since I’ve thought back to my childhood…”

“Well stop crying like a wuss!” The boy said, grinning cheekily as he was now trying to erase the fact that he was even crying at all, “You looked better smiling, Foxy!”

“STOP!”

 

They reached some kind of mutual understanding…and a strange kind of friendship. Indeed, tears didn’t always suit the strong…but the strong cried as a way to prove they were humane.

 

“So did the twerp decide to play nice?” Brooke asked as Marie emerged from the cell, with Hajime next to her. After destroying the tracking device and with a risk of letting him go…Kaneki decided it would be best to keep him in GOAT for now…under Marie’s full time watch, “Done with your time out?”

“Shut up you witch!” Hajime barked at the brunette, sticking out his tongue,

“You shut up brat!” Brooke yelled back,

“How about…You BOTH SHUT UP!” Shouhei Takeo said stepping between them, “Brooke, you’re acting more like a child then he is…You’re setting a horrid example.”  
Being put in her place was never something she dealt well with, but this was the second time today she was faced with sharp words that she couldn’t fight back with so the brunette bit her lip to keep herself from speaking, leaving the area and marching down the hallway in quick strides,

“Well whatever, Just keep your brat on a leash, Marie!” and it was a good thing she didn’t see Hajime making faces at her as she left or they both might have ended up in the cells.

“Where are you going?” Marie called after her friend, tapping Hajime on the shoulder to get him to stop,

“Finding Tomoe!”

She probably wanted to go let out some steam with someone willing to pick a fight. 

 

Ryoichi was so thankful that Marie was able to clear things up with Hajime…though personally he still didn’t trust that kid… But what surprised him the most is that she wasn’t mad at his father even though…it was he who had killed her mother in order to provide for him…she really was too light hearted.  
Speaking of _heart_ …he was planning on asking out Koharu to go for a stroll outside for a little while…surly there was at least one park in this city that wouldn’t be corrupted. 

“H-Hey um…Koharu,” he said, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention, “Having some cabin fever?” 

The request he made was simple and straight to the point, no more beating around this bush. If she wasn’t ready to date, fine, but he still wanted to be close with her at least.  
“I guess…not for long though.”

Then quietly, the two started to leave the underground, everyone behind watching in wonderment and curiosity. 

 

Shouhei could only shake his head in disbelief of his son actually asking a girl out for a _simple stroll_ ; whilst Marie found it quiet amusing. But she was happy for Koharu and if Ryoichi ended up becoming a special person to her then…she’d support that happiness. 

“I’m…going to go…read something.” The older red haired man said, leaving the celled area a little shakily. Now it was just Marie and the kids, perhaps a little fresh air would be nice for them too.  
Tagging along with Ryo and Koharu to the surface, they were on their own mission to find a little place of heaven. 

 

Indeed, Tokyo had at least one, small green space that night that was pretty much vacant and safe for them to enjoy the air. This city had certainly become a scary place and it was hard to believe they called a place like this home. 

Yusa, a little disheartened, found a quiet little place on a bridge that over looked a small pond to stare at his reflection in the steady water…sometimes tossing in a stone to create ripples. He too, like the rest of the group, was relieved for Marie’s safety back there with Hajime…but he was still quite irritated that no one – _no one_ – but him was truly concerned or desperate to help her. But what hurt even more is that she felt the need to tell that brat about her past before he even had the chance to ask her personally…by this point Yusa thought he and Marie were good enough friends to share the kind of stuff – then again she didn’t know about the garden so maybe they weren’t.  
Then speak of the little devil himself, the very last person Yusa felt like seeing was strutting himself up the bridge with a confident smile crossing his face…or maybe that was his mischievous smile…hard to tell.

“Aww, lonely Yusa?”

“No…go away.”

“Hmm…well I thought I’d just let you know…I heard you crying earlier…were you scared of me?” The younger boy scooted himself right next to him, making Yusa struggle to keep his attention on the water,

“I was afraid for Marie…”

“Oh were you? Well she seemed to do just fine and I mean wow…I’ve never seen a girl like her, like I’ll admit she had me fooled for a second but then she went all badass on me…damn she’s scary hot huh?”

She was hot alright…so hot that Yusa was always the one getting the secondary heat from her as his hands always clamped and his face would burn just by glance. He wouldn’t tell Hajime that though and tossed another stone into the water, this time with anger as he managed to make a large splash with it. But that was his mistake as it gave Hajime a clear example that his teasing was actually bothering him. Showing a flashy, sly grin, Hajime went on and on about how ‘hot’ and ‘foxy’ Marie was. A little piece of sunshine.

“Yeah and you know what, Yusa? She gets me…I think she even likes me.”

“She calls you out for what you are,” _a devil child who would never deserve her_ , “she’s not afraid to use force when she needs to against you…she just tries to make it up to you by being nice afterword’s…”

“Yeah but she’s so strong! I’d love to fight her one day to prove my strength.”

“Keep dreaming…Marie would win anyways.”

She would, Yusa knows she would. But to be honest he wouldn’t want to see her fight with Hajime…because if she was friends with him…she’d be sad about it and he didn’t want to see her that way either.

Love is so complicated.

But soon, Yusa’s moping and anger was caught by the one he liked as she was coming around the bend with two of his best friends; apparently they were looking for Hajime. 

“Hajime! Don’t run off like that you nearly put me in a real pickle already today…”  
Yusa had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as she scolded the younger child; nah Marie would never be interested in this kid…she saw him as just that; a kid! “Now get down here!”

“Alright, Foxy!” Hajime winked, clicking his tongue only to be shut down again,

“Stop calling me those silly names…Now why don’t you go hang out with Shio and Rikai…I want to have a talk with Yusa alone...”

That was enough to stop his laughter, she wanted to talk with him, alone?!

“Aw man…are we getting paid for this at least?” Shio asked rolling his eyes,  
“Umm…you’ll get paid with his friendship.”

“You can’t buy a sandwich and a soda with that…oh well, come on Hajime, let’s go find the swing set like the big kids we are.”  
The younger boy stuck muttered something to himself, curse words most likely, but stuffed his hands in his pockets and stayed next to the others, thank god he was going to be out of Yusa’s hair for a little while. But when he glanced over to where he previously was standing, Marie had filled the space nearly starling him, damn she was good!

“Yusa,” she said, her face starting to drop, “why did you doubt me earlier?”

“I never…doubted you,” He hesitated, trying to look her in the eyes only to avert them, “I just…you could’ve been hurt…you asked him to kill you!” Yusa remembered that crystal clear, he remembered her saying that to the younger boy, and how he nearly threw up himself just from hearing her say that. 

“But, I handle myself just fine on the battlefield almost everyday and you’ve never said boo about it…why was today such a big deal?” She asked, reaching down to find some stones to toss into the pond with him, “I knew what I had to do in there…and that was the only way I was going to get him to understand. I tried the easy approach first and he didn’t listen…so I had to resort to extreme measures…”

Extreme measures?! Putting yourself out there like that?!

“But Marie!” the young Arima didn’t know what his hands were doing at the moment as he reached out to grasp her arm, catching her sudden and shocked gaze, “You- What if he did kill you?! What if he didn’t have that moment of feeling like someone cared?! Marie…not once have I ever doubted you and your fighting abilities…you were an amazing investigator…someone that I always looked up to because you always seemed to be happy, you were always smiling and greeting people in the halls at the CCG even if you didn’t know them…but since being in GOAT…I’ve been so restless with everything…especially you…” He was selfish to say such things, he knew that, but he wanted to keep her smile…he wanted her happiness to stay with them all forever. Because even if he couldn’t see a world outside of fighting at least he had her to look at, someone who could give him a reason to dream, “it’s just…seeing you there with Hajime today…I just…just…didn’t - no – I hated seeing him hurt you!” Her scares that lined her delicate, porcelain skin were still slowly trying to heal...Yusa felt that he failed to protect her, even if that was never his job in the first place. Shyly, Marie pulled the collar of her shirt up and fixed the bow around her neck so as to hide some of her marks, though she didn’t look ashamed of them,

“You know…Yusa, when I looked at Hajime in the cell, all crazy eyed and riled up like an animal…all I could think about was how that could have been me if I didn’t make the choices that I did. The CCG…it’s corrupted…it’s always been…even before Furuta and the oggai…”  
So she’d grown up in the CCG, he heard that from her story earlier too. All this time he’d thought of her being someone who had explored the world, experienced everything he wished to see himself, he saw her as a Mona Lisa with that smile so full of secrets…but in truth she was like him too.

“I agree with you,” He said, tossing a rock so far that it ended up hitting the grass on the other side of the pond, “the CCG…it’s messed up.”

“Hmm..?”

“I heard your story Marie…let me tell you mine.” _Let me tell you about the garden_. Let me tell you about the torment they put children through everyday, kill or be killed, expectations and great respect to people you hardly even knew, tools, useless, priceless. 

“I never knew my mother either…I was stripped from her a few months after I was born…” Yusa told her everything…even what he was, “so was Rikai…a-and Shio…and Hairu. Just so we could get prepared-“ when he looked down into the pond below them, he saw some ripples staring to form…but no one was throwing in any pebbles…those were their tears. It wasn’t just him crying over his past, but Marie was too.

“I’ve heard rumors…about the garden…” She said looking over at him with those big brown eyes of hers, “But…to think that it was that bad- I had no idea…Oh my god…and to think for that many years the CCG has been doing this kind of thing to children…it’s not fair! Not for you, not for anyone…how dare they toss you into the bucket like experiments…”

“Don’t cry for me Marie, please…it’s not like anyone can change us for what we are-“ he didn’t want her to cry over him, he didn’t want to see her cry over the garden...it wasn’t worth it. But the blonde didn’t think on that same level and kicked her foot against the bridge in frustration only to loose her shoe as it fell into the pond. Again, without using his head, Yusa Arima leapt off the short bridge into the water below, only waist deep to retrieve it.

“YUSA!” Marie called, leaping over the side in toe, “what are you doing you’re going-“ But he ignored her warnings, instead he found her shoe and gave it back to her while they were both standing in the water like fools. His tears had stopped, but hers only continued to stream down her features and her honeyed voice always soothed him, “Yusa…you’re worth crying over…and you know what, you’re right, no one can change you but that’s okay because…you’re a pretty great boy for who you are already. I wouldn’t change a thing…ghoul or not.” Then as she took the shoe from his hand, the blonde leaned down just a tad, so that she could give Yusa Arima a peck on his cheek.  
So maybe love wasn’t in their favor right now…but who knows…perhaps one day Yusa would earn the right to get a real kiss from her.

 

\--

“How odd of you to request a night walk,” Koharu said with her arms folded over her chest, walking next to an uneasy looking Ryoichi, “But it has been a while since we were on the surface…without having to run.”

“Yeah it has,” He had to agree with her, right? “I haven’t been this relaxed in ages.”  
LIE. And she seemed to catch it too as she gave him an odd tilt of her head before tilting it up to the sky.

“It sure is pretty tonight, huh?” Koharu’s eyes were to the stars, gazing up at the dim shine of the specks, “it’s so clear.”

“Yeah, it is...” But it’s not as pretty as you. No way – he couldn’t say that! She’d kill him…  
All they’d been doing since they got here was small talk,

How’s the weather?

What did they do yesterday?

How are plans going?

Ryoichi’s hair looked nice…

All the little things…and it was starting to get boring…but this is how you work up courage…right? Talk to each other until you reach the right moment?  
But he personally would have been okay with just being able to stare at her all night. Under the moonlight she was so beautiful, her dark hair becoming one with the night sky…and even in the daylight her brown eyes seemed to shine in the sunlight. Her body…he could only imagine how perfect it was-

_No Ryoichi! Bad Ryoichi! Save those nasty thoughts!_

It was times like this he felt both sides of himself whispering words into his ears, or what and what not to say…But obviously…he had to say something else. 

“So..Koharu…I’ve been wondering,” He trotted up to her side, seeing that she looked intrigued by his inquisition, “What was your reason to join the CCG? After hearing Marie’s story earlier…it got me wondering about…you. What was your life like before the CCG?”  
When he asked her she almost looked horrified by the question, turning her body away from him as she rubbed her arm in disheartenment.

“You want to know? Well…I guess there wasn’t much to it. I mean…I am an Ui so I was raised as such…best of the best of everything and all…though I guess I was more of the troubling child compared to my brother. Outgoing, mischievous, cheeky, all those fun words…I loved getting us into trouble growing up and yet he…he always took the blame and protected me when our nannies found our organized chaos.” 

Koharu had talked of her brother quite often to the group…though Ryo couldn’t understand why…from the ways she described him from their working days he sounded like a real write off – a big jerk! Why if Ryo ever came in contact with this Koori Ui, he’d pummel him…! Or probably not, “then I kinda followed his foot steps into the CCG, it was the only way to escape the planned marriage…” The two then stopped for a break on a bench that stood under a large tree, Koharu twiddling her thumbs in some sort of a way, “Though really I guess I’ve never shaken off my spoiled act…”

“You are pretty demanding…-“ Ryoichi didn’t mean to say it out loud – it slipped past his lips and he was quick to cover his head with his arms “I’M SORRY.”

“For what…your honesty?” Koharu sighed, leaning back into the bench so she could lifelessly look up to the sky, “I’m not mad…so quit being a coward or I will have to start adressing you as my brother.”

“Please don’t do that.” Well that was a surprise…then again he was so accustomed to Karren and Touka kicking his face in when he dropped comments that he’d forgotten that Koharu wasn’t all flame and furry too. But he didn’t dare bring up her past again, it was clear she didn’t want to dive into it and he would respect that.

“So…What’s your story?” She then asked, causing his mind to go blank for even just a moment. Did he really need to go into that? What was there to go into that she would find interesting?

“You…really want to know about-“

“Sure,” she chortled, crossing her legs and looking at him curiously, “after all it’s probably more interesting then mine.”

 

_Wanna bet on that?_

But if she wanted to know about him then he supposed there was nothing to hide anyways…and even if there was what would be the point? Keeping secrets would just lead to more lies and more lies would lead to more chaos…That was something they really didn’t need any more of. Taking a breath, Ryoichi Takeo decided to take Koharu Ui back to his past; into the life of a young ghoul stripped of innocence even before he was even able to remember his earliest days. 

\--

Ryo only had a few, short memories of his days before Aogiri…and to remember those one’s made his heart cry because those were the days when his mother was alive. His father had never been part of his life, not even in his early childhood; it was his mother who was his ultimate caregiver. Shouhei was in and out of it so much that he was considered more of a stranger the part of the family; all he ever cared about was money and earning lots of it. Ryoichi wasn’t even sure his mother loved him as much as she claimed, she would provide for his needs when he was home but not once had he ever witnessed his parents kissing. 

“I made enough so we can pay this month’s rent…but not enough for that bracelet you saw.” Ryoichi heard Shouhei say once after they ate the dinner, “It’ll be on hold again.”

“That’s fine…I didn’t even want it that much.”

“But you said you liked it.”

“I don’t need it Shouhei!”

It was a constant thing in that apartment, yelling and arguing between his parents…even when he was in the room with them. But he didn’t have the power to do anything about it; he was nothing more then an innocent child that was put in the center of that circus of chaos. Taking a tiny bite out of the meat slab that was on his plate, that one time, the one and only time he ever interrupted them during one of their fights is exactly what turned him off of meat in the first place,

“Daddy…”

“What is it Ryoichi?!” He father barked, shooting a glare at his son who tried to duck under the table, hesitating to speak and he had a good reason to be afraid, 

“I’m not hungry…can I go play?”

“Not hungry?! What do you mean you’re not hungry?!” Shouhei’s fist hit the table so fast that it caught both of the other ghouls off guard, “Do you even understand…do you realize how hard I had to fight to get us this meal tonight? How many other hungry ghouls I had to chase off?!”

“Shouhei he’s only 4!” Hoshii interrupted, grabbing her husband by his arm only to be pushed back,

“I don’t care if he’s only 4! Hoshii…teach your son some manners.”

“So he’s only my son?!”

“No, but as his father I demand some respect and gratitude…if he doesn’t like what I have to offer then he can go hunt his own food.” Then turning his cold gaze back at the quivering child, he clicked his tongue and stomped out of the room, slamming the door to bedroom and in a worry some manner, Ryoichi turned back to his mother who gave a tired grin.

“It’s okay baby, you don’t have to eat right now if you don’t want…I’ll pack it up and you can have it later.”

“But…daddy got mad at me.”

“Daddy’s not mad at you, he’s mad at himself.”

 

Despite all that bickering between his folks, he knew that deep down all his mother really wanted was for her husband to stay home with them; because that’s what Ryoichi wanted. 

But maybe, just maybe…if his dad was in their life more, if he were there that day instead of being concerned for money, she would still be here today.

Being so young at that time, Ryo only has flashes in his mind of what really happened that day but he had enough memory to put it together like a puzzle. 

“Mama, when’s daddy going to come back?” he asked, standing by one of the dusty windows, his gaze locked at the traffic flowing by,

“He’ll be back soon,” Hoshii Takeo sighed, unfolding a torn blanket and motioning for her young son to come sit with her on the couch in their small living room, “he’s at work, remember? If he doesn’t work we won’t have enough money to keep our home.” 

But while his memories of events might be scrambled, he remembers that apartment they lived very distinctly, he can even still remember that vintage scent it had, the few holes in the baseboards where he’d seen mice run into, and the dust hanging off the lamps.  
But to ghouls like them, it was a luxury suit.  
Hoshii used to work part time as well at a bookstore, but had to quit once Ryoichi was born to stay home with him as the fear of their secret being sent loose if he was sent to a daycare. So to make up for the loss of money Shouhei was the household’s solo provider for both money and food, working late and often into overtime, often even taking over other’s shifts for the extra payment. But he always returned, though often after his family had already tucked in for the night.  
Did that even bother him back then?  
But it was the night that Shouhei didn’t return home from work that caused Hoshii to be on edge and her fear for him being caught by doves was sitting in the center of her mind. At least Ryoichi assumed it was. He worked as a technician, though more so for minor odd jobs then any major corporation…to this day Ryo has never understood how his father was able to even earn his way into a job like that…he probably never would know. He must have played the trick of playing human well.

By the time morning breached the next morning, Hoshii decided that it would be best to go looking for Shouhei herself instead of waiting, she knew where he was supposed to be that day and would track him down; with her son of course. 

“I’m still sleepy mama…” Ryoichi whined as his mother gently shook him, though the young child only stirred, “no…I don’t wanna get up.”

“Come on, Ryoichi…we’re going to find daddy…” But still he wouldn’t budge from his small bed, forcing Hoshii to have to carry him instead and carefully try to slip him into some warmer clothes for the long, early morning walk.

 

The chilly morning air was enough to wake him up, the sun wasn’t even in the sky yet and Ryoichi was wide-eyed and shivering in the brisk air. His mother on the other hand was marching like she was on a mission, her long strides and determined glance was enough to back up as evidence to that. However, they weren’t the only one’s awake at the hour it seemed, the streets were already starting to fill with other individuals getting a head start to their day, minding their own business and seemly not even acknowledging them. But Ryoichi spotted a couple of businessmen following behind them, both carrying large metal cases.

“Excuse me, miss,” one of them called out to Hoshii who stopped so she could glance back at them, her grip tightening around her son and putting the hood of his jacket over his head to hide him a little,

“Yes? What is it?”

“That child…isn’t he a little young to be up so early?”

“He’s…I’m taking him to- Why do you even need to know how is this any of your business?! Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to be late for…work!” she hissed, attempting to turn herself around and continue walking at least before it started to rain, soaking all of them in seconds!  
The other man spoke up,

“You know…the childcare centers aren’t open for another hour…”

“I take him to work with me.”

“Really? What’s your profession?”

“That’s none of your concern…”

The two doves then muttered out something else, something that Ryo didn’t manage to hear from the pattering of the rain on his hood.  
At the time, he didn’t know that those two men were doves and he couldn’t even imagine how his mother was so calm when she first encountered them. Best guess was that she was already on the suspected list and that they had been watching her for a while, waiting for a moment to attack. 

Slowly, Hoshii started to back away, trying to find a way to escape through blending with the crowd…but what crowd? Did everyone else just disappear? They probably all ran away seeking shelter from the sudden storm.

“Why don’t you turn and go find some shelter?” One of the doves asked, moving a little closer and clicking something on his case, “wouldn’t that be better for your child? Or are you afraid that we’ll attack you…ghoul.”

Ghoul. What a twisted thing to be.

Then in a matter of seconds, Hoshii unleashed her bikaku, forcing it through the pavement to try and attack the investigators by surprise only to see that they were well prepared for such an indecent inconvenience, quickly maneuvering themselves and unlocking their cases to project their own hand held weaponry. 

“Do you like this?” one of the men asked, laughing a little, “it’s brand new and it’s such a beauty isn’t it? But lets see if its beauty is enough to make an example out of you!”

Ryoichi didn’t cry as his mother struggled to protect him and yet keep herself in battle, trying to fight off these humans singlehanded. They managed to hit her a few times when she used her body as a ghoulish shield; most injuries repaired themselves…some did not and never would be able to. One like a impalement on her hip. But through the pattering of the rain and the clashing of metal and flesh, Ryoichi was able to spot something else coming towards them, someone with red hair…

“Daddy!” Ryoichi screamed, catching his mother’s attention as well as she only could turn for a second before having to put her focus back on the doves. She had a plan to get her son out of this mess, she couldn’t afford to keep this up much longer and Shouhei wouldn’t be able to run to her in time before she would give in. So, with one big brutal punch of her bikaku on the investigators, sending them back a little bit and knocking their weapons out of their hands, she placed her son behind her and told him to run to his father…and to not look back.

“Mama…?”

“Just run, Ryo, just run for me!”

“No mama…! You’re going to come home!” I need you! But she continued to push her child away, turning her body back to face the doves that were already trying to attack her again.

“RUN RYO!” She screamed at him, blood starting to slip out of her mouth, that being enough to scare him and force his legs to move on their own, taking him all the way to where his father was running.

“Ryoichi?!” Shouhei caught his son just before he tripped over an uneven part of the sidewalk, the child screaming for his mother who was still in battle ahead.  
He would always hate his father for not running to her aid, but perhaps even he knew that she was beyond help at this point…and that they had already been found out. 

That was the last time Ryo ever saw his mother…and the day he started to hate himself for what he was. 

 

Shouhei and Ryo never returned to that apartment. Instead, he hand his father took refuge on the streets, using up the last of his father’s earnings for clothes and other necessities. He couldn’t return to work, he didn’t have work anymore at that point, and therefore was stuck in the raising of his son who cried every single day and night, forcing them to relocate incase of being scouted out again. Every place worse then the last, either in the hidden alleyways, under bridges and at one point even in the gutters. Whenever Ryo would finally go to sleep for a little while was when Shouhei would go hunting for food, though Ryoichi would never touch it unless his hunger was driving him mad; much to the displeasure of his miffed father . 

“Eat Ryoichi!” 

“I-I..I can’t!” the redhead would hiccup during his cries, looking at those limbs always made it worse, “I can’t do it anymore!”

“EAT IT OR DO YOU WANT TO STARVE!?” 

“I WANNA STARVE!”

“You ungrateful, annoying little shit...” Patience was never Shouhei’s specialty, though during his son’s childhood it was clear that he’d ran out of it a long time ago, “this is why your mother was in charge of looking after you…you’re a pain in the ass. I go through all that hassle to put my life on the line and you won’t even touch your food…and stop your crying!”

“I can’t! I want mama!”

“You’re mother’s dead! Crying won’t bring her back you know so stop it and learn to be man for once! Big boys don’t cry…you’re such an embarrassment of a child.”  
Well Ryoichi did, he did a lot. Cried him self to sleep and cried till he made himself ill. There was not one inch of sympathy or compassion in his father back then who often told his son to shake it off…all Ryo would have needed was a hug to stop.

Eventually, one day after hunting, Shouhei had returned to his son claiming that he’s found them a new place to stay…little did he know that would be Aogiri. 

“Ryoichi Takeo?” he remembered a young Eto back then too, same as always; unpredictable, “Why the long face? You’ll be able to get strong here you know.” He didn’t want to be strong, he just wanted a normal life, “Why don’t you go see the other children…I need to have a word with your daddy.”

His father was quickly assigned to work alongside many of the older ghouls, quickly working his way up to go on high paying jobs too, though that being said he almost always left Ryo behind and in the care of other children his own age, one of which was Hideyori – Rin. She’d lost all her family to the CCG and was looking for revenge, more so for her sister; but at least she was strong enough to do so. Ryo couldn’t hold a candle to any of the other kids; he was always last for everything, even for games. He couldn’t use to kagune properly and was struggling to live in the shadow of his father that was quickly becoming a popular name around the gang…the only reason that Ryoichi managed to live for so long was because he had that name and Eto kept watch over him too in a sense. But eventually enough was enough. He couldn’t take the bitterness of crying to sleep, the loneliness of being the outcast with a good name, the endless array of bad luck…that’s why he ran away from that place, ran into another fateful encounter that lead him to Touka, Karren, Nishiki, Yomo, Kaneki, Koharu, Masaya, and heck, even Tsukiyama…all his friends.  
He was always good at running away. Cowardice? Maybe, but that’s how he’s gotten by…and how he’s lost everything. 

\--

“I mean…I’ve always been unlucky.” Ryoichi said, letting out a sigh as he turned away from Koharu who was wide eyed and shocked by his story, why? “I have a little black cloud over my head that just won’t go away.”  
That probably wasn’t something he should have said to the girl that he was in love with, but he couldn’t help it when it was the truth…but now that he said it he was tempted to find a hole to sit in and hide for a while.

“You know Ryoichi…there’s no such thing as luck…it all comes to decisions…at least that’s what I think.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, just look at me. I might be an Ui, but I made the choice to go down the path I did…astray and chaotic but…more interesting. No luck on my side, just the choices I’ve made thus far.”

“Choices?” he asked, now looking at her through his trimmed bangs,

“Yeah, for example, I chose to become a Quinx and in return got to meet some amazing people and do some…less amazing things. But it was never luck that did it, it was my own momentum, my own actions, and words,” Koharu then glanced down at her feet and shifted her hands so they were sitting nicely in her lap; very posh, “Ryo, I was born into the life where I could’ve had anything I wanted just by my word…but let me tell you something, it wasn’t what it’s made out to be…I had my brother and even then he was busy with his own life and had a hard time staying with me growing up…I was lonely like you. But I figured by joining the CCG I could make a change…for myself. I had to work for it and it was an eye opener for sure…nothing was handed to me there and to be honest I liked it better that way…I felt useful and my confidence went sky high! All by a choice.”

“What’s the moral of that small tale?” The redheaded ghoul chuckled, trying hard not too gaze at her for too long, “that I made some bad choices?”

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head and slowly reaching out to take his hand and move her body a little closer to his, “that you didn’t make any at all.” And it was a good thing it was dark out so she couldn’t see the rosiness of his cheeks. But she made a valid point…when did he make a choice for himself? For so long he was depending on others to make choices for him…for others to protect him. If he wanted comfort…he’s have to go and find it himself and if that meant he’d actually have to join this war…so be it.  
With her hand in his, he tightened his grip and looked into her chocolate brown eyes, the stars reflecting and gleaming off of the surface. Gulping he decided to attempt breaking the silence,

“You know, Koharu-“ but before he even had the chance to finish anything, his body seemed to have taken over for him and pushed his lips against hers, though a little more forceful then what he intended…she didn’t pull away from him and instead pushed back with her own. But Ryo, being Ryo, was actually the one who was first to retreat, unsure of how to explain himself in a confident or less awkward manner,  
“You said it’s all about choices…right? Well…I’d never think of you as being a bad one...”  
He tried his best to improvise with a smile, only to receive a scowl from Koharu, who yanked him by the cuff of his shirt and pulled him in for another kiss, one that he tried mumbling something against her lips.

“You know Ryo…” she huffed when she pulled away, “you’re a horrible kisser.”

“What?!”

“But…to be fair I think I should at least give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that was your first one?”

“Umm…Yeah.”

“That makes us even then…That was mine too.” 

Oh great, he ruined her first kiss because he was the horrible kisser?! To be honest she wasn’t great either…but as least she had her eyes closed on the second one. 

“Well…Let me try again…please?” he said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck and trying not to avert his gaze. But Koharu couldn’t help but tease him,

“I dunno…are you really up for it?” she said turning her head away with a big, playful grin, “Strike three and you’re out!”

No he wouldn’t be! At least he hoped not and leaned into her again, pressing his lips against hers for a third time and making sure he was doing it right. He felt pretty good about it too, especially since he was able to get a little taste of her lips too.

This might’ve been one of the most terrifying moments of his life…but he wouldn’t run away this time.

“We should head back,” Koharu said, her own cheeks a little bit pink, “I’m sure the king has a new plan set in motion.”


	29. Livin' In Desperate Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( Masanori belongs to Hamilet <33 )
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this week's chapter! Thanks for reading!

“My my, I can see you a little more now! This is great!” Furuta knew that his soldiers could handle themselves just fine even without him watching over them…it was like waiting for water to boil anyways. So to chase away some time he snuck into one of the secret laboratories to check on his latest child, “Just look at you…you’re going to look just like me!” poking lightly on the glass of a small, enclosed jar, where an embryo was currently developing. Small and defenseless in it’s exposed of a replication of a womb-like enclosure. But next to it’s little containment stood a very large, heavy-duty metal’n glass box…though a fully grown woman was inside under her own wistful slumber “hopefully you’ll take on your mother’s…temper (❤)”

\--

“Suzuya…do you really believe that we almost reached 100%?” Mizurou gripped onto _Beef_ just a little bit tighter as he and the rest of his squad stood nearly on top of what felt like hundreds of bodies; some that he didn’t believe were all ghouls either, “It just…this all feels so pointless.”

“I know how you feel Tamaki…but this is our job as investigators…just be obedient and get the job done.” That was all his squad leader said to his demoralized group, his voice sounding disheartened as he carried _Jason_ like it was a weight on his shoulders.  
Furuta had disappeared mid battle and wherever he went, Mizurou was hoping it was hell. But he had to bite his tongue to keep all his forbidden words at bay; he had been ever since the new Bureau had taken charge. The worst part was that he couldn’t even tell Michiko about his frustrations, making it that much more painful.  
A healthy relationship thrived on honesty and secrets would only be a carnivorous threat; but he wanted to keep her safe. If she knew what he was thinking, her stubbornness would lead her to her death bed, “Come on, let’s head back to headquarters to quickly fill out our reports…then we can go home.”

They returned to the CCG, still the same dark place as they left it, always a few more missing individuals among their comrades and a few more lost souls wondering aimlessly into barren rooms. Thankfully, Michiko and the remaining Quinx and Beta Quinx had all made it back in one piece. But his eyes darted around until he was able to spot her among her group.  
Mizurou wasted no time to embrace his wife who had scares of her own around her sleep-deprived features, some healing, some not. 

_Thank god you’re alive._

Behind her, Mizurou Tamaki saw Koori Ui enter through the CCG’s doors, he too looking like something the cat dragged in and tore to shreds.  
Shoko and Yoko Souzu running over to him to assist though Ui only pushed them to the side. He was luckier then Mizurou…his lover wasn’t forced to fight anymore…not like Michiko. But still it was hard to say what was going through that man’s head…he was the Bureau’s advise after all so in the end all this bullshit was his reasonability to clean up; _if he could._

“Did…you write your report yet?” Michiko asked lifting her head so that her chin was resting on his chest, her emerald eyes glancing up into his brown ones,

“Not yet.”

“Then you better get to it…I need to get back to Mizuki.”

“Yeah...Just give me a minute.”

\--

To Mizurou, having Michiko on the battlefield was a living nightmare now that they had just started their life as a family, but to Ui, he still wished that Hairu were by his side out here. She was his other half, fierce and showed no mercy to their enemies, she’s a great fighter and he felt more confident with her next to him. But at the same time he understood that Masanori was their new priority…and that if one parent were to survive, he would need Hairu more in his life then Ui. That’s what he liked to believe anyways.

But still, he wondered if it bothered her that she was the one holding back.

“I hope you don’t mind us tagging along…again.” Shoko said from behind as they neared Ui’s apartment. They had certainly made it a regular thing to drop by his place after battles and he knew why they did…Shoko had explained to him one time that the Villa had this haunted feeling to it when it was just the two sisters all alone inside. Like the ghosts of their former squad roamed around or something; so childish really but considering no one ever comforted them in the garden when they were afraid…it made perfect sense. Were they even aloud to be afraid there?  
But to be fair he’d gotten used to their company as well, plus they did help watch over Masanori on their visits and Hairu was fond of them so the Souzu’s were fine in his books.

“It’s okay,…” he muttered, digging through his pocket to see if his surprise for Hairu was still there, something velvety rubbing against his finger tips caught his breath for a moment, “but wouldn’t you rather go hang out with the Suzuya squad? That’s where Michiko is…”

Michiko…the last remaining member of the original Beta Quinxs that wasn’t a deemed a traitor…  
That always left a bad taste in his mouth when he reflected on that…because Koharu was a traitor, his own flesh and blood, that’s what Furuta told him and as much as he wished he could argue…Ui didn’t have the courage to. 

“Michiko...She’s always busy with one thing or another so…” Yoko said, twiddling her thumbs.

“That’s not it, don’t sugar coat it!” her sister scoffed, “It’s because Michiko’s salted at the fact that her entire team has been labeled…they were her friends and she probably doesn’t like how we’re her last options as team mates…”

“I highly doubt that…Look, Michiko may be stuck in her ways but I’ve known her for a while now and to say the least that probably isn’t the reason she’s avoiding you. My best bet is that she’s preoccupied with her own family right now.” _Times are desperate after all._

“If you say so Mr. Ui…” 

 

When they finally reached his place, Hairu was quite surprised to see the Souzu’s again; though her little wild child seemed ecstatic to have his engaging aunts stop by, never mind the return of his father. However, that was where Hairu brought her concern to light,

“Koori, you look exhausted.” The pinkette sighed, handing a squealing Masanori over to Shoko, 

“I’ll be fine, can you be ready in 30 minutes?”

“Why?”

“I’ve got a dinner reservation for us.” But his girlfriend looked hesitant by the surprise request; did he seriously want to go out right after coming back from an operation? “Don’t worry about Masanori…these two will watch him for us.”

“We will- We are? What?!” Yoko and Shoko both looked appalled just as much as Hairu, “I mean…I guess we can but-”

“Good.” Then carefully reaching down to take the pinkette’s hand, Ui looked into Hairu’s emerald orbs, though his own were as half alive as her’s, “so what do you say love?” 

“Well…If you’re sure.”

“Sure I’m sure.”  
_Are you absolutely sure?_ Shyly, she glanced back at her son who was already having a party of his own on the floor with his aunts, even snatching Shoko’s hat and trying to crawl away with it into the bathroom! This forcing the sister’s naturally chasing after him,

“MASANORI DON’T PUT MY HAT IN THE TOLIET!” the blonde squawked after the quick infant, Yoko right behind her holding back her laughter. 

“Koori-“ 

“Don’t worry he’s in good hands.”

This man was up to something…and it looked like the only way she was going to find out was to play along with his little game. Alright. 

 

After taking her leave for their bedroom to get ready, Koori’s body fell like a weight as it sank in the couch behind him. He even tried to reach for his cigarettes…that weren’t on the coffee table anymore. Fuck Hairu must’ve tossed them again.  
Soon, Shoko emerged from the bathroom with a screaming Masanori hanging under one of her arms and a soaking wet ball-cap dangling from her other. 

“Your son submerged my hat in the bowl.”

“I’ll get you a replacement tomorrow…” He sighed rubbing his forehead, watching as Yoko took the shrieking boy from her sister’s less-then-careful hold,

“There there Masanori, auntie Shoko’s not mad at you, she’s mad because…she lost her favorite hat…Now why don’t we go invade the fridge for some chocolate milk for me and some...mushed something for you.”

Now it was just Shoko and Ui in the room, the blonde taking a seat next to him and letting out an equally exhausted sigh. 

“So do you want to tell me what this is all about? Why are you forcing yourself to go on a date after that last extermination…?”

He winced a little bit, he really didn’t want any knowledge of his plan to leak out to anyone but Shoko had him cornered…But he supposed she kind of deserved to know…he did drag her and Yoko into this too in a way. Grunting, he reached back into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, not daring to open it. He was hoping this little display would be enough for her to catch on.

“So, the great and stubborn Ui finally decideds to seal the deal.” She scoffed, twirling some of her blue-dipped hair between her fingers, “Wowie!”

“Shut up Souzu…I don’t want Hairu to hear-“

“I get it,” Shoko chortled, leaning back and stretching out her arms, “but are you sure you want to do it today? Are you even in the right mindset? I mean I’m pooped…I can’t imagine how you must be.”

“Believe me…I didn’t intend on doing it today it’s just…when I walked back into the CCG tonight, I saw Michiko embracing her husband as soon as she laid eyes on him…thankful that they both made it back alive. It made me realize something…Tamaki might have rushed into his marriage, an idiotic move on his part, but at least he loves her and will die a married man…I don’t want to die alone, Shoko. Why wait till tomorrow when it can be done today?”

She looked at him like he just spoke something forbidden, like he was a madman,

“Umm…because you would want to do it right and in the moment? Look I watch enough TV to know that you can’t jump the gun ‘just because’…please tell me you’re going to do it because you love her…”

The way the girl spoke to him, he felt like he was talking with Koharu again. The ways she was coaching him and telling him how he should do things. No, he was a grown man and could make his own choices, he didn’t need his subordinate telling him how and when to propose…So he’d let her comments slip his mind, especially since now that he saw his beloved emerge from the other room, dressed up in a black dress with a white shawl. 

_She looked like she was supposed to be attending a funeral…_

“Are you ready Koori?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

\--

“So a little birdy told me…you and Ryoichi are a thing.” Brooke winked, elbowing her friend who wasn’t the least bit flustered, in fact, Koharu was holding her head high and a proud smile was highlighting her best features. Carma and Marie looked equally excited to know if that was the truth as they leaned closer, so much that they were nearly on top of their poor leader.

“Yes it’s true,” she assured, removing herself from the many bodies trying to crowd her out of her own personal bubble, “But…who’s the birdy?”

“Your dumb luck boyfriend of course.” Brooke sighed, pointing to Ryoichi down the hall who was speaking with Touka…probably still spreading the word.  
“Aw that’s sweet.” Carma mumbled out, her own face flushing for Koharu’s sake…but her leader was a little less thrilled about the news being shared so quickly like wildfire. 

So is this how Ui felt when he wanted to go slow with Hairu? 

Oh well, at least Ryo was proud to be with her, she really couldn’t complain about that.

“Well, I better go check up on Hajime. I don’t like leaving him alone for too long…and I have to try and give him a pep talk before the wedding.” Marie said, waving goodbye and skipping down another hallway that lead to the sleeping quarters. Carma following close behind her giving a quick bow before exiting,

“I should take my leave too. Me and Karren are in charge of the set up.”  
Karren and Carma, a new odd duo that seemed to be getting along rather well from Koharu’s sightings of them together. However, most times she only ever caught them arguing about gardening techniques.

But for the wedding of the king and his soon- to-be queen, it was a shock to see that Carma had managed to take this so casually…maybe her nerves had finally started to unnerve. But this wedding was to not be taken lightly nor was it to be a celebration of just their union, but also to celebrate the announcement of the news that the heads themselves are expecting a child – Lucky Koharu found out from Ryoichi who’d already gotten word, the trouble was keeping it a secret from everyone else! But Kaneki and Touka weren’t the only ones who were expecting; in rumors it was that Karren was pregnant as well with Tsukiyama’s child.  
With all this commotion…It made Koharu wonder if Hairu and Michiko had their babies by now – most likely. She just wished she could have been there with them…she wanted to meet her nieces or nephews so badly and it made her heart ache knowing that she may never get the chance. 

She missed Hairu and she missed Ui. Those two were the only true family she’d ever had; her salty brother and one of her best friends. 

But she wouldn’t dwell on her losses tonight, nope, this was going to be about Touka and Kaneki…and she would toast to their passions.

“Well, I guess it’s just you and me Koharu!” the brunette huffed with a smirk, marching up next to her leader, “I’m the only one without a date in our group though it seems…Oh well That’s cool. I can chill with Tomoe.”

“Hakatori?” 

“Yeah, she gets me. Were both kinda lone wolves.”  
Brooke was certainly making something of herself since being here, probably because she knew that she could no longer depend on just her group any more for solo friendships. Wow, Koharu’s group has certainly… _grown up._

“Marie told me you had a…good friend back at the CCG…Higemaru was it?” She’d only received little information on the new quinx that had joined after Rose…apparently there were two more added to her squad as well. Who knows…she may end up fighting them one day.

“Ew Higemaru…he was. It wasn’t like we were anything…he was just my friend with benefits.”

But their one moment together was soon cut short once Touka herself came up to the other woman, a sad look taking over her fake smile that she was clearly trying to hard to pull off. Oh god, did she disapprove of Koharu?

“Hey, Ui, can we talk for a bit?” she asked her, and glancing back at Ryoichi behind her who’d gone pail, it was clear that this was worth hearing. 

“Yes, of course.” Bowing her head towards the ghoul, Koharu followed behind Touka who took her towards her quarters, leaving Brooke and Ryoichi as the last one’s standing. 

“So…what’s your problem you delicate peach?” Brooke asked, punching Ryoichi in the shoulder who whimpered in response to impact, “man you bruise easy…”

“Ow! I can’t help it!”

\--

“Then, I snagged it off his shoulders! You should have seen it, everyone totally freaked out!” Hajime boasted to the zero squad as well as Kennedy and Auralee, none impressed with the tales that this kid was bragging about. 

“I don’t believe you…the CCG wouldn’t do that! Would it?” Shio asked Rikai who could only let out a shrug, deep own she could believe that this was a true story but it was better not too; Hajime’s ego didn’t need to be boosted.

“No traitor would believe anything!”

“You’re a traitor too though!” Yusa grumbled, “unfortunately.”

“And why do you say that?!” The younger boy asked, stomping infront of the young Arima taking a fighting stance, but the teen took it to humor,

“I can’t kill you…”

“Why? Who says? Is it because of Marie?”

“Don’t bring her into this…” Yusa’s red face was a dead give away but he couldn’t admit that this brat was right about that little fact. He would have killed him with ease if Marie hadn’t taken in Hajime under her wing; it infuriated him as it gave Hajime that much more ability to blackmail.

“Oh but I have. Just say uncle Yusa Arima, Marie likes me and therefore, you can’t lay a finger on me! But even if you could, I highly doubt that you would be able-“  
But before the child had a chance to finish that sentence, all three of the zero squad kids had already pulled out their quinques, immediately surrounding him though being careful not to actually touch him, “Hmm?”

“Don’t underestimate us.” Rikai growled and carefully stepping away again, ordering the other two to pull back as well, “Yusa…stand back. Don’t let him get to you.”

“Fine.” _Easier said then done Rikai_. But she was right; he couldn’t let him get to him. 

“Wow! You’re all so quick!” Auralee cheered, lightly clapping her hands, “Bravo!”

“Hey enough about them!” Hajime barked at the girl, stepping back from the group and trying to gain ground again, “I’m not finished talking about me!”

“Wowie there’s quite a racket in here…” a voice sang from the doorway of the room, and there stood Marie and Hirako! They must have observed the whole thing! “Hajime…please apologize, that wasn’t a very nice thing to say to Auralee.” 

“What?! I’m not taking orders from you!”

But the blonde could only giggle as she walked into the room and stood next to the child, her kagune starting to slip out of her body and wiggle it’s way to Hajime’s feet and Yusa could hear the child gasp.

“I suggest you do…if you want your feet,” then another tail lifted up towards his stomach, “Your tummy,” and a third to his face, “Or…that face.”

“Not my face!” Hajime muttered, finally pushing pride aside and quickly slipping out a sorry towards the other 12 year old, then stomping out of the room like the urchin he is.

Yusa found it very amusing to see that kid’s back.

“Hey Hajime! Come back! You need to get ready for the wedding!” the blonde called, though her attempt was deemed unsuccessful as he boy had no intension of returning. 

“That’s…one way to deal with children.” Hirako muttered out and shaking his head in disbelief,

“With him, you’ve got to prove who’s the bigger person,” She grinned with that sparkle in her eyes as her kagune fell back inside herself, “or in my case…I have to out-fox the fox!”

“I’m pretty sure it’s- never mind.”

Then, Yusa felt Shio give him a nudge and whispered to his two friends,

“If you ask me, I think Hajime’s just one big mama’s boy.”

\--

“It was nice going out for dinner alone, wasn’t it?” Koori Ui asked, trying to reach out for Hairu Ihei’s hand that dangled on her side.

“Yeah.” But honestly, everything felt off that night to her. For one, Ui didn’t even touch his meal when it arrived to the table and she noticed as she was eating that he nearly fell asleep over his food! He was so tired and his self care hadn’t been top notch either…his usually pristine hair was frizzled and scruffy looking and with those bags under his eyes it had Hairu questioning just how bad things were becoming at the CCG for her partner; what has his new position done for him?

Certainly no justice.

But instead of walking out to his car, Ui had taken her in another direction, much to her disgrace,

“Koori, the car’s that way!”

“I know.”

“Then…why are we over here? Koori!” But no matter what she said he didn’t seem to hear her, he tuned her out completely as he was in his own zone! Finally, the pinkette yanked her hand from his grasp, stepping back so that he would finally look her way and listen.

“Hairu-“

“No Koori! What’s wrong with you tonight! You’re acting so…so werid! Just look at you, you’re a mess! You’re practically tripping over yourself, the car is this way!” Then instead, she tried reaching out for his hand and guide him in the opposite direction, only his feet seemed to have stuck to the pavement.

“No- Hai-“

“What was so important about this dinner anyways?” She finally blurted out, “Why couldn’t we have just stayed home? Why couldn’t you have just stayed home tonight to have spent time with me and Masanori instead of planting him on the Souzu’s!?”

“Because!”

“Because?!”

 

“Because Hairu, I needed to get this done today!” he shouted at her, taking one step too far and nearly loosing his footing. Whoa. But he had to stand tall; he had to get it through her stubborn head that he had a purpose for this night, one that was not going to be wasted on her anger, his anger.  
He really didn’t want to do this right here on the street, but she gave him little choice as she wouldn’t budge so…he’d have to make do; even If he wanted to do it down by the cherry blossoms.  
Taking a breath he back away just a little bit, taking another look at her before falling down to his knee, digging into his pocket and pulling out that velvet box. He could hear Hairu’s raspy voice as she called his name in shock, so at least this was a surprise. Keep it cool Koori Ui.

“I know that this is sudden, especially as of everything that’s been happening lately…but risking my life every day - our lives – it’s really forced me to consider things in the bigger picture. I want to be with you forever Hairu, I want to be that man in your life who will always be there for you, someone you can go to whenever you need to talk or even just a shoulder. I love your flaws as much as your perfections; to me you’re my everything. You’ve even brought my child into the world to add the cherry on top.” He felt silly for doing this so…publicly, so out in the open, but he needed to say these words while he could; while he had this ounce of courage, “I love you Hairu Ihei...so please would you…marry me?”  
Ui kept his eyes closed as he waited for a reply, because as things were standing that night she would probably brush off the question. He wouldn’t call her brainless for that. But instead, he felt her body fall down to his as she wrapped him in a tight embrace and felt her face fall to his shoulder. Oh.

“Koori…I had no idea that this is what you were up to! I’m…I’m so sorry-“

“Don’t be. I just – I couldn’t spoil the surprise.” In return to her hug, he smiled a little bit and carefully wrapped his arms around her, “just…after everything that has been going on at the CCG…I knew that I wanted to seal the deal with you before…just in case-“

“Don’t talk like that!” the pinkette shouted, nearly breaking his ear drums, “Koori, you know I love you…more then anything in the world. You were the first person to say that you loved me. But please tell me that you didn’t just ask me to marry you because-“

“No Hairu I didn’t rush it.” Believe me, this has been sitting in the back of my mind for weeks, “I don’t want you to be alone.” I don’t want to be alone. “I want to marry you not because of reason of force, not because of Masanori, but because I want to. I’ve…I’ve loved you for years, even before we started going out. You are the light of my life, my rock, someone who sets me straight when I’m going sideways. You’ve kept me humane, especially in desperate times like this. Hairu…You’ve told me about your past and history, what and who you are, but that didn’t change my feelings for you – not once! To think that you were treated in such a way revolts me to my core.” He pulled her a little closer to him, ignoring the passing individuals who glanced their way every so often. But he didn’t care, he knew she didn’t either, “But I’ll always be the one to ignore that fact and stay by your side as an equal because to me, you’re more human then most people I know.”

Hairu didn’t reply to him and that was worrisome for Ui. Did she doubt his words? Or did she truly not want to marry him? Still he couldn’t force out her answer and instead rose in the place of both of them, helping her to her feet whilst still holding her in his arms.  
But eventually, by the sound of a guitar being strum in the distance, Hairu Ihei finally gave her answer. 

“Yes,” She cried and oh so graceful it sounded, “Yes I’ll marry you!”

\--

A ghoul wedding. 

What did Koharu ever imagine one as in the first place?

If she were to go back in time to the days where she was an investigator…she would never have thought they possessed the emotion to go through with a ceremony like this in the first place.  
But standing here, isolated with a group of some familiar faces, all laughing and singing to an offbeat rhythm made all those thoughts slip away, especially as she watched the newly weds gracefully greet with their family and friends.  
But the raven-haired woman was still trying to get over some harsh words received by Touka earlier, warning her to not break Ryoichi’s delicate heart. Karren’s words were equal to that just before the ceremony when she ran into her. Perhaps they were very protective over Ryo…or their hormones were going haywire already.  
But speaking of the devil, Ryoichi was already coming over to greet with his new partner, a little hesitantly and every word that escaped his lips were stuttered.

“Y-You look….so pretty.” He choked, his purple orbs struggling to make eye contact with hers. But she hadn’t really changed much aside from cleaning up her hair. 

“And you look clean.” She added, pulling lightly on some loose strands of his hair and pulling it away from his face, “you look so much better with shorter hair.” Then, knowing full well she’d be waiting all night for a proper invitation to dance, she held out her hand to him instead, “Care to dance?”

“Y-Yeah! I mean…Yes.”

He wasn’t a bad dancer at all, a little shaky but that was fine since she was too. He wasn’t a fighter, he wasn’t strong, he had a little black cloud over his head…but through the flaws she saw a solid man and a good individual who just needed a chance. And she’d give him one.

 

Meanwhile, both Marie and Brooke were musing over the small drink stand, both with cups of water instead of…a less desirable form of alcohol. Their laughter was pretty obnoxious for a formal wedding; luckily this wasn’t that at all. 

“You’re kidding! You had a thing for Nakarai…like Keijin Nakarai?! WHY?!” Brooke hollered, squishing her plastic cup in her hand, tears pouring down her face, “You never told me that one!”

“It’s nothing! It was nothing more then a schoolgirl crush!” The blonde replied, “But he’s…kinda sweet and a little misunderstood.” But her fate was never sealed with him; Marie already figured that out long ago after an embarrassing incident happened between them. Love was never her first priority anyways, she’d been too busy with friends and her investigative studies to have ever worked up any nerve to spend some time with him, never mind talk!

“Well Marie, if you ask me I think you’re too pretty of a thing for a guy like him. Nakarai was always an ass.”

“He's just honest.”

"You- seriously?!" Brooke was left scratching her head when Marie wouldn't agree with her. Brooke knew as much about Keijin as her friend did...It was odd though Marie never really talked about him so why now? Was just they was of how things were lately that got her to thinking? Or was her daydreaming working overtime? WIth Marie Kitami...it was hard to say, "You're a weird one...maybe you should talk to him if you ever...run into him again."

But soon, the two young yoman were interrupted once Hirako had stopped by to grab a refreshment for himself, though he really didn’t seem to care about their little conversation. Or maybe he did. It was hard to tell with that poker face.

“Well…I Think I’m going to call it a night, Tomoe didn’t even show so there’s no point in me staying to watch the slow dancing.” The brunette said, nudging her head in the direction of where the zero squad who were coming over with Hajime next to them. Well…at least he showed up. 

“I’m glad you can Hajime.” The blonde said, walking over to them with her usual smile, but the child rubbed her off,

“Whatever…you’re the only one.”

“No, I’m sure it means a lot to the king - um - Kaneki that you attended.”

“…really?” That seemed to lift the kid’s spirit as he glanced over to the groom who was dancing with his new wife, but he didn’t once look towards Hajime who lowered his head a little. But still, someone was glad he decided to come,

“Don’t be sad, Hajime… It was a very mature thing to show up then instead of hiding away.” And cautiously, she placed a hand on his head, praying that he wouldn’t try to rip it off. But Instead he turned away, not bothering to even look at her; oh well he was a child after all…he’d come around eventually. 

“So…Rikai, should you and I strut our stuff on the floor or?” Shio asked, nudging the teenaged girl who looked confused by the gesture.

“Shio…it’s the slow dance.”

“Yeah and? I think Yusa wants to dance with Marie…isn’t that right Yusa?”  
The blonde girl glanced over at the young Arima who was trying so hard to look anywhere but at her…but he really didn’t have to act so shy with her. Oh well, he was kinda cute when he was anyways. But instead of getting mad at his friend, like he usually would, he embraced it and in fact asked if he could dance with her. But of course she would!  
How sweet it was to see the other two following in toe behind them, though she felt bad for Hajime who had no one to dance with…well maybe she’d dance with him when he was in the mood.

“You’re not as shaky this time! It’s good to see you improving, Yusa.”

 

But for a night of dancing and celebrations, it was clear that a union could be festive and meaningful, no matter the species. In the end they were all living on the same earth, all fighting for the purpose to live.  
Just holding onto each other because at the end of the day…their relationships with partners and friends was all they truly had. 

\--

 

There was a bit of a chill in the air that night, maybe a bit of rain was trying to push through the clouds. Erica couldn’t help but wonder why the world depended on water. Life and rebirth? Death and the forgotten? It provides life and yet took it away just as easily… _why did Brooke like the water so much?_

“Hey, Erica, catch!” Mayuzumi called, tossing a bottle of water towards her as he exited the convenience store. At least he gave her a heads up this time, “Oi! Where’s your mask!”

“It’s hot and sticky being in that thing.” She replied, sticking out her tongue, “Why do we need masks anyways…we’re not ghouls.”

“No but it’s an order under-“

“Who cares about that…” the young Akita sighed, opening the bottle and greedily chugging it down. But her statement didn’t seem to go over well with the boy next to her as he grabbed her by the cuff of her shirt, glaring at her with disbelief, 

“Should I assume you’re taking treason?”

“NO! Don’t be stupid…I told you I just took it off because it was muggy wearing it…look I even have an imprint on my face! Now let go!” Erica wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing…was it treason or was she acting on her own account by following along…who knows? She just wanted her big sister back again.  
Of course…she had to find Hajime first and if this teachers-pet was supposed to be leading her she could hardly believe it.  
Setting up their bikes again, the two young Oggai knew that they were getting close to finding him…it was mostly just a plan of attack.


	30. Wanted Dead Or Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading early to celebrate Fruit-chan! This chapter probably has more of him then the rest of the fic. <3 
> 
> Enjoy and thank you! <3333

“No…The Bureau is very busy today with plans for the next opperation.” Koori Ui stood firmly in front of the obnoxiously large door that separated the CCG; he was standing at _the gates of hell itself._ The one trying to get past was Mizurou Tamaki, desperate to speak with Furuta face-to-face to bring up some issues that perilously needed to be addressed.

“Please, I have to speak with him!”

“And I said now is not a good time!” Ui’s eyes weren’t as grim as they’d once seemed, but there was news of his engagement to Hairu floating around…so maybe he was finding _a reason to dream a little,_ “Tamaki…I understand your request but…I’m only trying to protect you. We’ve lost enough lives to these – things – you shouldn’t be one of them…think about your family.”

“But that’s why I’m here!”

There had been so many questions burning at his core; so many that needed to be answered now!

There were 2 major issues he had to bring up today; things he would not let slide by anymore. One of them being something he thought he shouldn’t have to bring up since it seemed like there would be an obvious solution,

Mizuki had been fighting a high fever and cough for the past few days and even something like that could be deadly for a young infant like her; this has left her parents very unsettled here at the CCG. But that was just it; Furuta wouldn’t allow either Michiko or Mizurou to stay home with her because of preparations for _‘an unpredictable mission.’_ So for now she was left in the hands of his parents during the day until he and Michiko were able to get off work; but it wasn’t benefiting anyone. 

 

Certainly no matter of arguing was going to solve anything when it came to reasoning with Ui, he knew that, but this man was so dense he seemed to have a hard time seeing where Mizurou was coming from.  
But if acting like a desperate subordinate wasn’t going to get him through, he’d have to try talking man-to-man. That would be like walking on glass.

“Ui-san…please just hear me out,” Mizurou rolled his shoulders back and kept his head high, though trying not to look intimidated was a challenge in itself, “Mizuki is very sick and I want to persuade him to let Michiko take time off…and I also want to ask him something that has been bothering me for the past while…you probably have your secrets, some that you can’t tell anyone – not even loved ones – because you’re afraid you might hurt them.” He paused for a moment to see if he’d made any dent in the iron wall, Ui seemed to be listening willfully as his body language started to fall in just a little. 

_He out of anyone in the CCG…should be holding some kind of grudge or anger towards Furuta._

After seeing this engagement, Mizurou cleared his throat and continued,

“There are things I need to get off my chest, things I want to bring up to the Bureau myself…because I know if I tell Michiko she’d bring up the issues herself and…I’m afraid that if she words them incorrectly she may…” _get herself killed_ , “I don’t want her loosing anymore sleep then she has been staying up to look after the baby…and even if I can’t persuade him, I want him to at least know some of the issues that have been arising. Please.” He wouldn’t beg on his hands and knees, Mizurou knew that wouldn’t do him any good. So he just stood there tall and confident, waiting for a response.

_Please be sane enough to see my logic._

Seconds had passed, soon turning into minutes. How much thought was Ui putting into this?! However, the man finally let out a sigh, lowering his head in defeat a little bit as he opened one of the doors for him. 

“Thank you, Ui-san.” He too lowered his head with respect as he slowly started to make his way in, but the other investigator didn’t turn his way again and shut the door behind him, forcing a light echo to resound in the room. 

This was his first time being inside this room since the new Bureau took the chair and, it felt instant, as if Mizurou had just lost his ability to breath. The aura felt so heavy, it was almost as if there was something pushing against his chest as the sound of his own foot steps could be heard; creating that echo much like the door. But once he made it to the desk at the back of the room, it was clear that some…redecorating had been done. There was some very unusual fabrics and décor that surrounded Furuta who was busy looking through some papers; oddly he was smiling while doing so.

Say it now!

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Mizurou spoke up though his tone was far less confident then when he was speaking with Ui,

“Sorry for the interruption.”

The man looked up from behind his desk, eyeing Mizurou cheekily,  
“Ah, Mizurou Tamaki from the Suzuya Squad! Did my advisor let you in? Well don’t just stand there, please stay awhile.” He said gesturing towards a chair close by.

“I’m...okay standing.” He really didn’t want to sit in here; afraid he might not be able to get back up. Besides he wouldn’t be long, he just needed to vent a little, “I’m here to discuss a few things with you.”

“Yes?”

“Yes…” Now that he was here…it was much harder to get it off his mind, “I have a question about that last operation. Were we disposing of ghouls...and humans?” an issue that had been going on ever since Furuta took charge – hell – It could’ve been going on much longer then that but no one even noticed? But Mizuoru’s question seemed to slip by the Bureau in an odd way as he gave a plain reasponse,

“It was ghoul disposal.” 

_That’s it? Suzuya-san said the same thing but…_

“But they weren’t all ghouls…many didn’t even have anything to fight back with…no kagunes.” Questioning the head was probably just going to dig himself into a pit, but he had to know if what they were fighting for was really anything purposeful, “I may not be as experienced as my squad leader…or may other investigators for that fact, but every ghoul I’ve been up against has always fought back no matter what. These – people – they resisted, as if they knew they were already dead.”

But once again, Furuta responded with the same answer,

“It was just ghoul disposal,” Then, leaning himself over the desk with his hands under his chin, he glared at the investigator curiously. This was pushing Mizurou’s patience, he knew what he’d been seeing so why is everyone denying the truth?! Clenching his fists he couldn’t help but loose some of his self control and snapped, 

“Come on! No ghoul would try to be killed so easily; none are that weak and helpless! I didn’t sign up to be an investigator to have my morality stripped by killing my own kind, not the innocent! So tell me, why are we killing humans?!” For sport? To rub fear into the citizens? Why?! But no matter how much he shouted, the Bureau didn’t look the least bit threatened and instead tapped his finger on the table, that damn smile still imprinted on his face. Humming for a moment as he looked down at him inferiorly, Mizuoru could’ve sworn that he was going to call a death sentence.

“Well…I didn’t expect that.” He laughed, “But…should I go and assume you want to resign? Commit treason?”

“N-No.” This is why he feared for Michiko coming in here and speaking – this is why he kept his inner emotions a secret from her lately, but now he was the one walking on a thin line, “no I just want to…verify my actions.”

_Am I murderer to human kind? Is Michiko? Is Ui-san? Is Suzuya-san, Keijin, Miyuki, and Hanbee too?_

“Well…seeing as though you’re just going to continue pestering me, I might as well _spill the beans_. Yes, not all those bodies were ghouls, but be aware that those humans were no longer on our side…clearly they were with the ghouls and all those who go against the right side of humanity should be disposed of anyways…right?”

_Morality…what do you know about morality?_

Hanging his head, he decided it would be best not to push the subject any further and jumped right to his next, and more important question…though that too was instantly denied.

“I’m afraid that I can’t afford to have Michiko stay back – she’s a quinx after all and her skills with her bikaku as well as her quinque are all too valuable to put to the side.”

This man…This leader….wasn’t even human if he couldn’t even let a mother stay home to care for her sick child.

Instead of coming for answers…Mizurou left the office feeling more lost then ever. 

\--

 

Ui watched as Mizurou came through the doors again, his face had no colour and looked as if he were about to be sick. 

_‘I warned you.’_

He didn’t say anything to him when he glanced over, just a nod of his head before he left down the hallway with the uneven taps of his feet against the tile. 

Ui already knew what they’d been doing this whole time, but he didn’t go searching for answers incase he were to be faced with a horrible request…or a horrible fate. Besides, staying with the devil was the best way to protect Hairu, to just act innocent. 

_But if Ui was searching for justice, he wouldn’t find it here._

Eventually, Furuta emerged from the door this time, requesting for his adviser to step in for a moment. 

“Tamaki is no hound; so if he figured it out I’m sure that the other’s have too,” Furuta started as he and Ui pointlessly gazed out of one of the larger windows; down at the sleeping city, “so let them I suppose, what’s done is done.”

“I think him looking for answers is a key part to being an investigator.”

Furuta laughed at the response,

“How very _you_! You looking over the beta quinx sure has made you soft in some ways…too bad not all of them turned out.”

Ui had to bite his lip to keep from mouthing anything that might put him on his deathbed, if he were to speak against his words, all Furuta would have to do is say the word and off with his head.

“What does that mean then?”

“What it means is…the beta quinx were a failed experiment to begin with; no group can only consist of women. Only one original investigator from your squad remains and the other two are your personal babysitters.”

“They are all very talented young investigators.”

“And that’s why they’re still alive.” Furuta mused, marching back over to his desk and searching for some papers, “But with a group so small, they won’t be able to keep up their talent before being picked off…so, Michiko, Shoko, and Yoko are merging with the original quinx squad…starting tomorrow.”

“But-“

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll still be looking after them just, I’m adding a few more to your lot…Now, I want them all sharp and ready for the next raid! I’ve just gotten word from two of my Oggai…the king’s little kingdom has been found.”

\--

“Wow dude…you look 100 miles of bad road.” Keijin Nakarai scoffed when he spotted Mizurou walking down the hallway, “What’s eating you? Or did you eat something?”  
But for the first time in a while, he had little effort to pull out a laughable response. 

_We’re murders…all of us._

Behind his blonde squad mate stood Miyuki Mikage, the both of them draping sweat towels over their necks; they must have just finished their evening training session. 

But he wouldn’t be the barer of bad news to ruin their evenings.

“Yeah, just feeling a little under the weather…where’s Michiko?”

“She’s still in the weight room,” Miyuki said gesturing back down the hall, “She’s been going hard the last few hours…she won’t stop…I worry she may injure herself if she keeps it up.”

Michiko had been putting extra time into her training since returning to the CCG; she thought that she was way out of shape since her leave but she honestly wasn’t that bad! To Mizurou, he was convinced that she was only working out as a way to distract herself from the commentary around her squad – the traitors. But Miyuki was right, she needed to stop and rest herself.  
Thanking his two friends, he made his way down to the fitness room where he found his wife doing some body lifts on the bar, pulling herself up and down at a pretty fast rate! On a pair of treadmills next to her were Hsiao and Saiko, both of them pushing themselves pretty hard as well…were they training too or looking for a distraction?

“Hey, Michi,” He called to her and as soon as she noticed him she let go o the bar and fell to her feet – until they gave out on her and she fell to the floor instead! “Michiko!”

“Michiko!” Saiko repeated, so shocked by the other quinx’s fall that she nearly tripped on the treadmill herself if not for Hsiao reaching over and catching her.  
Michiko winced as he tried to help her up again, she luckily wasn’t hurt but she was clearly fatigued. Quickly, he took presumable Saiko’s water bottle off from her treadmill and handed it to the light brunette who took light sips. 

“Michiko…are you-“ 

“I’m fine Mizurou!” she barked, “I’m…actually I should be asking you if you’re okay…you’re so pale.”

And he would be for a while, getting over news from earlier wouldn’t wear off easily – but he didn’t need her to know just yet, she had enough on her mind. He’d be bearing this pain alone for now.

“I’m okay…” his reassurance wasn’t that believable, but she seemed to buy into it for now.

“Hmm…Alright, well then we should get going and pick up Mizuki…poor little thing I hope she’s okay. I hate being away from her like this, I feel like an awful mother.”

“You’re not an awful mother,” Mizurou helped his wife into her jacket whilst bidding their fair wells to the other two in the room, “It’s not your fault you’re away from her.”

 

Walking down the brightly lit streets, Mizurou couldn’t help but notice that Michiko’s pace certainly hadn’t decreased even after a long day with little sleep. In fact it was quicker then what it usually was; any faster and she’d be jogging! But he could understand why, after all he wanted to get Mizuki home and taken care of just as much as she did; poor Little Bean. But she was still in good care with his parents. 

 

Michiko wouldn’t deny to herself she was beyond exhausted, but there was no chance she was about to leave her daughter in the care of her in-laws all night just to give her some shut eye.  
Further more…she really just didn’t like her mother-in-law all that much, she was constantly critical of Michiko in not just her parenting style but in her literal…style. The sooner she got her daughter back, the sooner out of her hair. 

However, it was the buzzing of Mizurou’s phone that was to turn things into a dramatic and dreadful outcome that wouldn’t be quite as simple as she would have first hoped.  
Her husband froze on the street, his phone to his ear and his jaw nearly hitting the cement below them; he was trying to say something…but failing to actually produce any words.

“Mizuoru, darling? What’s wrong? Who called?” She turned herself around, reaching out to lightly tap him on the shoulder to wake him from his trance, nearly startling him and when he looked at her, he looked as if he wanted to cry.

“It was my father…he’s – they’re in the hospital!” To Michiko…with her mind in the state it was, the only reason she could think of them being in the hospital was because of Mizuki! Oh dear god no!

The couple decided to catch a cab as their fastest transportation to the hospital that Mr. Tamaki had said they were at, but when they arrived, they were greeted with a situation beyond what they were expecting. Instead of their daughter being the one in urgent care, it was his parents who were in recovery after an attack at their house! 

Mr. Tamaki suffered some head injuries as well as a broken leg and foot.

Mrs. Tamaki, she’d lost both of her arms from the elbow point and for a moment, and even Michiko could bare sympathy for her.

But there was still someone missing in this room, someone who they initially thought was the one hospitalized,

“Where’s Mizuki?! Where’s my baby?!” Michiko nearly fell over herself trying to search through the room in hopes of finding her daughter as if she’d be there! But of course she wasn’t…”WHERE IS SHE?”

“Hold on Michiko!” Mizuoru wrapped his arms around his wife as she looked as if through her distorted state she was about to lung at his parents…she would’ve too, “Mom, Dad…where’s the baby?!”

The room went silent so quick that it was almost haunting. The only sounds left were the beeping of the machines and Michiko’s weeping. Eventually, his father finally spoke up, letting out a grunt as he tried to sit up in his rickety cot. 

“Someone took her.” He grunted out, struggling to look into the eyes of his son as tears fought at his eyes,

“Took her? What do you mean took her? Who?”

“We – We don’t know…Men in black suits, lots of them stormed into our house asking to take the child under the CCG…we thought that this was some type of threat, joke even, and your mother rushed in to try and protect Mizuki…and when she refused to let her go…one of them chopped her arms off-“ but Mr. Tamaki’s story was cut half way when his wife started to whimper, unlike her husband she didn’t have the ability to hold back her emotions, “I’m not sure who they were…but they soon started to attack me as well and once they had me on the ground they swiped her and took off just as soon as they came…I was lucky enough to be by the house phone to call for help…then once we got here we reported that the infant had been kidnapped by these strange men-“

“And what are the police going to do about it?!” Michiko pulled away from her husband’s grasp, gripping onto the end of one of the hospital beds and shooting some harsh words towards her in-laws who couldn’t do anything but lower their heads, “my child isn’t their priority – not in this city – so you decided to put faith in something so improper-“ 

“I’m sorry…”

“Sorry?! Your grandchild could be dead and all you are is **sorry**?!” She could already feel herself tearing from the inside out…she didn’t want to admit that so quickly but there was always that _‘what if’_ factor. If only she’d been with her, if only she didn’t have to go in today then she would be home right now safe in her arms. Now…she was in the unknown terrain…probably scared and alone, “That’s it…I’m going to find her myself-“

 

“That’s enough Michiko!” Mizurou tried to hold back his wife once again, this time successful as her grieving had taken a brutal blow to her stamina and she fell into his arms. He guided her out of the hospital room, it was best that she didn’t see his parents anymore for now or she really just might say something she’d never be able to take back.  
In one of the empty waiting rooms, he held onto her as she finally cried herself to sleep; her body just couldn’t take it anymore and he felt even worse for the fact that he wanted to find heir daughter just as much as she did…only he felt even worse as a father then she did a mother.  
But really Mizuoru blamed Furuta for this – if he wasn’t so fucking selfish and had just let Michiko stay back for once then they wouldn’t be under this state…he was wondering how long his own body would last before it was to break down.  
Eventually, his phone started to ring again, this waking up Michiko instantly as he reached down hesitant to answer it after how the day had been already.

“Mizuoru.”

“Suzuya-san?!” At first, he was convinced that his leader was going to ask why he hasn’t returned home yet, something that he hadn’t managed to squeeze into this hectic schedule tonight, “what’s wrong?”

“Is Michiko with you?”

“Yes.”

“Good…that donkey has just called everyone to the CCG…we have a battle.”

“But- Suzuya-san!” a battle NOW? No…not now! Not with the way things are in his personal life…Michiko needed him here with her – she was in no shape for battle…and neither was he. “I can’t-“

“Look whatever you’re doing…it can wait until after the fight…right now we need to be investigators…there are people counting on us.”

His leader hung up first, assuming that his squad mate would follow the order. 

Yes, Juuzou might be referring to Shinohara to fight in his place but the same went for Mizurou. His parents were here in that same hospital, his child was missing and his wife was so exhausted that she’d be killed out there. Sorry Juuzou but the fight wasn’t worth their lives. 

“Mizurou?”

“Don’t worry Michi…we’re not going to fight-“ but his phone started to ring again, and as soon as he declined the number it just rang right back up again…surprisingly in video chat. Annoyed, Mizurou answered just so he would be able to give this idiot a piece of his mind only to be given an image of the Bureau! What the Fuck? 

“It’s not nice to decline a call.” Furuta teased poking at the screen, “epically when it’s your big cheese.”

“Is there something you need right now?” Michiko asked, taking the phone from her husband and tempted to hang up…only that they could faintly hear the sounds of a baby cry coming from the phone. 

“I wouldn’t say it’s something I need…rather something you need.” Then, Furuta guided the screen somewhere where the cries became louder and louder until it finally was above an infant on a medical table, connected to some type of tube that was collecting some of it’s blood! 

“ **Mizuki!** ” 

“Is that its name?” the Bureau asked, gazing down at the screaming child then back at the other two, “well that helps for identification.”

“How did you get a hold of her?! What are you doing to her?!” Mizurou had never felt such an anger rise up in his body this fast before, not even his grudge could add up to seeing this, his daughter attached to a bunch of tubes and having something take her blood…all while she’s ill! “ **You monster**!”

“Just remember Tamaki…you stuck your nose somewhere you shouldn’t have. I gave you an honest answer…now I just need a little something from you.”  
Rising from his seat, he was just about to take the phone back from his wife and smash it right there if it wasn’t for her holding it out of his grasp and asking him something he knew that he’d be faced with eventually…he just didn’t think it would be like this.

“What…is he talking about? What answers?”

“Oooh?” The phone sang, “So you didn’t tell her about our little conversation! But I’m afraid I’m not your journal…But never fear, you’ll get her back on one condition…I need you both to come to headquarters and fight…I can assure you what we have planned is nothing small and I need all hands on deck. If you manage to come back alive I will give you back your child…sounds like a fair deal.”

“NO IT’S NOT!”

“And one other thing,” Furuta’s smile took up most of the screen and frankly Mizurou wanted to throw up, “You cannot let note that our little discussion ever happened…just keep quiet and Mizuki will be alive when that battles over.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Well...I won’t be able to grantee her safety...”

But the crying that was ringing through the phone was enough to bring his wife to tears as much as himself,

“Fine…we’ll join.”

“MICHIKO!”

“Just-“ she choked out, holding the phone close as she covered her mouth to try and quiet her sobs, “stop doing that to her…she’s sick and-“

“Don’t worry mama bear…she’s in good hands.”

Suzuya was right about that, that man was a jackass.  
If he thinks it’ll be so easy to get away with taking his daughter – he better think twice.

\--

However, circumstances for GOAT weren’t looking much brighter as new threats stared to come into place as a new enemy had found their way into where they thought they’d found a safe ground. For at the moment…they were all at a disadvantage as many of their strongest…were away to search for meat. 

“Ready to move in, Akita?”

“Just say the word ‘ _oh high and mighty_ ’”

\--

“Everyone, move! Those who can’t fight run ahead, those who can stay back and fight!” Touka, their queen, was taking charge as little toy soldiers of the CCG started to flood into their territory, some on bikes, some on foot, all with one purpose. But this was no place for Touka to be, even if she could fight she had other things she had to worry about, same with Karren who seemed as eager to fight these things back but Ryoichi knew that this couldn’t last. 

“Come on, we’ve all got to run!” 

“Yes good idea, you run Ryoichi!” Karren said, heaving slightly though trying not to show her weakness starting to emerge, but Ryo would have none of it, he’d drag them both with him out of this place if he had to.

_You’ve both protected me for so long…let me protect you for once._

But this certainly would have been so much easier if Masaya wasn’t off with the king and his men, now it was up to him to defend himself. 

“Ryoichi’s right! Go! I’ll handle this place!” Naki reassured, urging them to go into the tunnels where they could find somewhere to hide, “Hurry!”

“Come on your highness! We’ll get you there safely!” Marie Kitami announced, Hirako and the rest of the zero squad behind her.

“Yes, We’ll all get you to safety.” Hinami added, behind her Shouhei gave a slight nod of his head,

“They’re right, we’ll get you both somewhere safe.” Koharu confirmed, sling at her lover who gave a confident nod of the head, finally persuading the expectant woman to suck up their pride and run. Now, Koharu was taking lead again, “Ryoichi, Marie and Hirako, you’re coming with us, Brooke, Takeo, and Carma, you guys get ready to fight on the surface…we’ll need to get the enemy at the core.”

\--

Hajime was certainly faced with a dilemma that he knew that was going to eventually screw him over and now he was sure of it. Hiding like a coward within the tunnels, he prayed that he wouldn’t have to run into any of the other Oggai face-to-face so he wouldn’t be forced to pick a side.  
He wanted to avenge his parents…but he’d also taken a liking to GOAT and a selected few…some welcomed him in even after what he’d done and some were just fun to hang out with.  
But could he hide from his duties? His other so called friends? 

“Well well well look at what we have here…So the great Hajime Hazuki lives!” 

Damn!

He knew exactly whom that voice belonged to and quite frankly he wasn’t too pleased to hear it. 

“It is I!” he exclaimed, trying to humor the other child by clapping his hands, “and would you look at that…you’re still kicking around Mayuzumi,” but he wasn’t alone, as next to him stood a female oggai, “and so is your bae I see. Hello Erica.” 

Erica stuck out her tongue,

“First of all – gross – I’m no one’s ‘bae’ and second…I thought you were dead.”

“You make me laugh Erica!”

“I agree,” Mayuzumi added, tossing her one of two quinque sticks, “Now, how about we go ghoul hunting? All three of us! We can even make a game out of it!”  
Mayuzumi was just about as power hungry as Hajime was, he was certainly considered a rival…in more then one way.

But before he even had a chance to answer, foot steps started to march down one of the tunnel ways and Hajime could already detect the sounds of Shio’s voice even from there.  
Zero squad?  
If Hajime could escape through another passageway he would, but right now he couldn’t…he’d be caught either way.

Choose…Choose.

But…in the third direction, another party was on its way…one that was with Mayuzumi and Erica.

“Ah…we have some back up! Excellent!”

“You’re not the only one…” A voice then came from behind Hajime as both Auralee and Kennedy took their positions, for the first time with their bikaku’s out!

\--

“Everyone hold it!” Koharu spread out her kagune as a wall to stop the group in the tunnel way, there was more Oggai down there and all ready to fight…only two that she could see, “Oggai…and Hajime…I think that’s Auralee and Kennedy too!”

“Hajime?” Yusa asked, “What?”

“I was wondering where the kid got to.” Shio sighed, actually glancing at the group to verify that he wasn’t there.  
But Koharu had to make her choice…she wasn’t about to request Touka and Karren to fight and she certainly wouldn’t ask Ryoichi. 

“Alright…I have an idea. Hinami, you will guide Touka, Karren, and Ryoichi down that tunnel over there …Marie, you and zero squad will fight with me since I doubt they’ll let many of us through.”

“But- The queen!” Rikai gasped,

“It’ll be fine.” Hirako reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

But even more so, Marie looked just as concerned and that in it’s own respect was troubling. 

“Are you…okay Marie?”

“Me?” the blonde just tried to force a smile on her cheeks, realizing the mistake of showing that emotion so carelessly, “Yeah…I’m good…Just don’t go doing anything I wouldn’t do!”

“I won’t Marie.”

But she wasn’t being her playful self this time, Marie was being serious with her and it was strange to see her act in such a way…but even she’d matured a little more and was finally seeing reality instead of just the pictures in her head. 

“I’m serious Koharu! You already gave the world a pretty big scare when we thought you died!”

Brushing it aside, Koharu raised one of her hands in the air, two of her fingers forming a _peace sign_ as she looked towards the small group in the tunnel. 

“Then I shall speak some words from the dead. Don’t be reckless…but if your heart is telling you to do something for the better good of the situation…then you should listen…There really is no second chances at life. So…say what you have to say and do what you need to do…because you may not get the chance again.”

 

Once their roles were in order and everyone was taking their positions to either run and fight or just keep running, they were prepared. 

“And…now.” Zero squad protected from the sides and the back while Koharu and Marie charged up front, just until they were able to reach the otherside and drop off the three who would continue on their way, which went smoother then they thought. But even Koahru herself couldn’t look away fro too long before a Oggai was already on top of her!

“Whoa check out this kagune!” At first she though that it might’ve been Hajime on top of her but instead it was some child who was more like a fly that could be easily swatted away. By the sounds of it, Hirako and the kids were already in battle by now as well, being back up by Auralee and Kennedy who were not as strong as they first seemed, 

“You two! Run down that tunnel! The-“

“No! We’re staying and fighting with all of you!” the girl shouted, taking a hit from the other Oggai! “Kyaa!”

“Auralee open your eyes- Gah!” But Kennedy wasn’t anymore successful when the Oggai that was fighting the woman was now against him! But she couldn’t even wait anymore time on them before she had to glance and check her own back again. 

“YUSA!” She could hear Marie’s voice call out and her head instantly shot in the direction where she saw the boy picking himself off the ground after being tossed.  
But  
Then a voice she recognized resounded of the walls of the tunnel that nearly made Koharu’s legs turn to jelly,

“That’s not how you close in on a special class, Yusa.”

When she saw his face…for a moment she had a hard time believing that was really him…it has been a while.

“Brother…”

But, in her ghoulish state he didn’t seem to recognize her, or at least he didn’t bother too as he prepared his stance again and trusted his quinque at her, nearly getting her too!

“You’re a traitor…sister.”


	31. Message In A Bottle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What make's an 'Ui' anyways?
> 
> Koori Ui and his sister Koharu Ui have to make that choice on their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here's to Koori/Koharu's backstory! 
> 
> With the heat in-between their fight and reunion I thought that this would be the best place to put it in the story! 
> 
> Actually, their's is so long I've had to divide it into 2 chapters! ;u; But Koharu is the protagonist here so naturally she is going to have the most in-depth history!
> 
> I had lot's of fun doing this backstory!, so I hope you enjoy some young Ui sibling moments! <3333

Was it really everything that people rumored it to be? Did Koori and Koharu truly have everything handed to them just by their word? Silver spoons and petite cakes with mascarpone?

If the rumor was really just a rumor – that would be a lie.   
But this was no rumor. This was the truth. 

 

Ui himself can still remember most of his early childhood, though much of it was a routine then an actual childhood at all. When he was 7 years old he was already enrolled into the finest elementary education institution in Japan and was soon being registered for the middle school. But in-between his schooling the young boy was still kept very busy with tutors and piano lessons – more so for courtesy then desire - he never really continued in that practice past the basics.   
Then, after his sessions, he’d make time to go out to the stables on the estate where an instructor was always waiting for him for his daily ridding lessons; but those to Ui were never a chore. While it was a slow start to get into the saddle in his early years, once he was old enough to gallop confidently in the arena, he was soon riding off on his own. He’d go behind their manor where he found plenty of meadows to race! It was just the horse and him out there; that is what he identified as freedom back then.   
But as for his actual home life, his parents were never around to see him or really raise him for that matter. Sure they gave him anything he asked for, no matter how much it cost, but really all he ever truly wanted was for them to notice him as their son…not their future moneymaker. In fact he saw his nannies more so as his guardians then his own parents. His folks were always away for business – their business – the one that they hoped he’d one day take on. But Ui never had any desire to do so; maybe this was why he was always so sour about everything. 

_He never knew whom to love._

At least, that was until he received a little sister, one that he wasn’t happy to receive at first. He hated her; he hated Koharu for the fact that she would probably have to live the same type of lifestyle. She’d be a princess, but to whom exactly? 

Even within 2 weeks after Koharu’s birth, their parents ended up having to leave for another business trip. Ui could only stare at their backs but as he got older he stared to realize begging wasn’t going to keep them back so why waist his efforts?   
_If you blinked, you’d miss them_. In and out, stopping for a check in but never for long periods of time.

Disgusting. 

\--

On one of those rare nights that his parents were home, Ui didn’t bother to go and spend time with them. He knew they were probably in their office discussing more business matters and would try to rush him out anyways. So, going to bed earlier just seemed like the better of two evils. 

Sleep was not always a rarity for Koori Ui, but even as a child he would sometimes wake up, desperately longing for something to hold onto, something that a stuffed animal wouldn’t always suffice. Being afraid of the dark was always one of his deepest secrets that he never told anyone about; afraid he would get teased or even shut down by his schoolmates or even his nannies. Something Childish.   
Ui’s weren’t allowed to be afraid.  
But he was.  
Even of something so simple.   
‘ _I’m afraid…mother – father!_ ’

But that night, he had to ignore his fear of the shadows in the closet to get himself a glass of water. Normally, he could ring for a nanny but he wanted to prove to himself that he could face the darkness on his own. 

Luckily, Ui made it down to the kitchen to get his water by himself, though it was a challenge he was proud of himself for doing it without being shoved by someone elseThough it was still a little scary to think that he had to walk all the way back on his own; but if he got there he could get back!

Young Ui made his trek up the stairs of the manor, doing so at a fast pace only to hear the strange echoes of a cry coming from down the hallway. He would have bolted if not for coming to the conclusion that it was coming from the nursery. 

Koharu?

Ui glanced back at the staircase, then into his parent’s room – notably vacant – then back at the staircase again. Were they so cooped up in their own world they didn’t even hear their own baby crying for them? None of the nannies were making a rush for the door way either.

“She’s so annoying…” he whispered to himself, how conspicuous that even an young elementary student knew when something as simple as this needed to be dealt with, “how am I supposed to sleep with all that crying?”  
Cautiously approaching the nursery door, young Ui peaked his head inside only a little bit, just so he could see the gaudy cradle where his little sister was mewling. When he finally made it over, standing on the tips of his toes to glance inside, baby Koharu’s face was damp with tears and her little arms were already reaching up for him.

She was afraid too.

Ui wasn’t sure what to do…he couldn’t lift her out nor did he really want to get one of the grown ups to help. So instead he did the only thing he could think of that could comfort her.   
Ui took one of the books off of the shelf in the room, one that he knew he wouldn’t have any trouble being able to read, and sat down next to the cradle so that he would be able to read to her and so that he could show her the pictures. 

‘This one’s about a horse Koharu…you see,” he lifted the book to show her the cover ‘ _Black Beauty_ ’, “It’s a long book so…I’ll read you one chapter tonight.”   
It was hard for him to read over her cries, but those too eventually started to fade and the baby started to calm down and listen to him speak. Ui stayed calm, making sure to read the story as best in character as he could – though sometimes he’s mess up on a word – but Koharu seemed to enjoy her big brother reading to her. She’d sometimes slip her tiny hand through the bars and tap him on the head and giggle.   
“Stop that! I’m going to loose my spot!” but no matter how many times he pushed her hand back, it always found it’s way out again.

He has a feeling that this little sister was going to be a real pain in the butt when she got older.

But even as he managed to finish the chapter, Koharu had already fallen asleep; the soft noises of her coos and breathing gave that away.   
That was it then, she just wanted some company.   
“I’ll…read another chapter tomorrow okay?” he whispered, hiding the book under the cradle, “and the day after that. I promise.”  
Looking at her, asleep and innocent, Ui thought she wasn’t as bad as he fist thought, she was kinda cute. She was cute when she wasn’t smacking him on the head anyways.   
But Ui kept his promise, he returned night after night at midnight when she would cry for him to read to her, he finished the novel as well as many other ones. They hardly saw each other during the day, but even their time reading books was enough sibling bonding for them to realize that they had someone to share their emotions with; someone who understood issues eye to eye. Ui might’ve been older then her, but growing up, it was clear to see that Koharu didn’t think in that light, she saw herself as someone who was always big enough to be with her brother no matter what.

As she started to grow, she often would follow young Ui around the manor when he was home, constantly asking him questions or trying her best to help him with…whatever he was doing. Although to him she was just starting to become an annoying shadow. 

“Kooooowwwiii!”

“I’m busy,” Ui said, trying to shake off the little pest, “I’m going to the stables.”

“Me come too!”

“No, you can’t come with me!” shaking off a persistent little sister was a hassle, she did this to him all the time no matter what or where he was going, he couldn’t even go to the bathroom most days without Koharu sitting outside the door waiting for him! “You’re too little to ride horses and you’ll get bored watching me.”

“No!”

“What?”

“NO!” She stomped her foot, sticking out her lower lip, “I come!”  
Depending on Ui’s own mood, Koharu either had a fit because he requested a nanny to look after her or he gave in and she’d watch him saddle and groom his horse. She wasn’t as fussy when she was in the area watching her brother jump; she loved it! In fact she told him that she wanted to do it too one day; that it looked like flying.   
Ui admitted…it kind of was for a little bit. 

“You want to jump?” Ui asked her one time when she was a bit older, “you want to do show jumping?”

“Yeah!” She said, pretending to jump over a small bucket, “I wanna jump with my horse!”

“Why?” He asked, continuing to groom a speckled mare, “you know you have to train really hard.”

“I know!”

“and you don’t get much free time.”

“I know!”

“Is there…a reason why you want to do it? It’s not because of me is it?” He knew complimenting himself probably wasn’t necessary, but in some ways he was proud that he played that big of an influence on his sister.

“Nope! I want a big ribbon!” She said, using her hands to scale, “I want a really big blue ribbon – no - I want lots!”

She wanted to win…she wanted to win something. At first he wanted to scold her for being so egotistical, but then as he thought about it he understood why she wanted to win something like a blue ribbon.   
All her life…everything has just been given to her without any work or effort – she just wants a chance to prove herself. She wants to prove that she can win something without someone else buying it first. 

“Well then,” He said, pushing some dark strands of his hair out of his face, “I guess the first step will be learning to ride…I can get my trainer to-“

“NO!” she said yanking at his arm so hard she could’ve pulled it out of his socket, “I want you to teach me!”

“But…I can’t- I have school and my own lessons and-“

“Please! Koori Please Koori please Koori Please! Please please please please please please please please please **PLEEEASE!** ” 

“UGH! OKAY OKAY FINE! I’ll teach you just stop whining!” 

Yes, a real pain in the ass. 

\--

Teaching his sister how to ride was the easy part, she caught on to the basics very quickly – almost like it was second nature – everything from set up to control. It was training her that was difficult. The two siblings kept this up for years, even in the rain and in the snow; they both were out there working, trying to perfect their skills on horseback.   
Ui regretted it now for making her feel so bad about making small faults in her performances sometimes, because she had a hard tie living with those mistakes as well. She’d constantly cut herself down if she knocked over a poll or it she fell off the horse. 

“Get up!”

“Give me a second…what’s with you?” Koharu asked, dusting her pants off and the lifting herself back up on Gloria, her purebred jumper, “Salty?”

“I’m no in a mood. If you want results you need to eliminate your mistakes.”

“I’ll fix them-”

“Good.”

“Once you cut your hair.”

Fitting time everyday wasn’t easy, especially with his crazy schedule between schooling and his own jumping, not to mention that as he got older, he had more meetings to attend with promising and possible suitors. He had to marry to keep their family going, but he honesty hated the fact that he was practically being forced into something he didn’t want to do; why marry out of money?

However, even he was able to over look such a fact when Koharu was finally competing in one of her first Jr show jumping competitions. If she won this, the point she could prove to herself that she was capable of winning a blue ribbon – and their parents who’d actually bothered to show up!

“I don’t see how your little games are really going to help her win something like this. She’s going to make a fool of the family!” Mrs. Ui said to her son as they sat in the VIP section of the large outdoor arena, “and herself if I may add.”

“No she won’t mother, she’s going to win this.”

His father didn’t have a comment to put in; he hardly ever did when it came to his children’s lives. 

Ui watched profoundly as riders took their horses through the course below, some making it through cleanly, some had faults. Koharu just needed to make it through perfectly within the best time and she could get the ribbon…

Finally, once her name was called and she was getting ready at the start of the course, Ui could already tell from just the way she was positioned that she was afraid, ‘Quit hunching over!’ But she caught herself and as soon as she got Gloria into a canter she was up right and formal again, making it over the jumps perfectly! It was when she reached the last jump that she just managed to nick one of the polls, it didn’t fall, but it could still count as a fault if it was caught! Shit.  
Ui watched as his father left his seat before they could even get her score out, was he that poor of a sport to see – no just a bad support. 

‘ _You did well Koharu, you should be proud._ ’

But she wasn’t, she knew about her mistake too just by the agony on her face as she dismounted and made her way to join the other competitors.   
But…when the winners were announced, Koharu was placed in first! Maybe they didn’t see it – no. Oh no. 

“I got my first ribbon!” Koharu exclaimed, rushing over to her brother as he entered the stables, “Look I did it all on my own-! Well thanks to your coaching I guess.”

Finding the heart to tell her the truth was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, mostly because of her reaction. He’d broken her spirit. But Ui knew what had happened and he didn’t even need any true evidence to know. It was all the timing. His father had left to speak to a judge and pay them to allow Koharu to win because if they were to count that fault, she may not have even made it to the podium. 

“Why would he do that!”

“He wants…He wants our family to look good.”

“Look good?! I Could’ve gotten it on my own! You know I could’ve! I hate our family.”

“Don’t say that!”

“But I do!” She cried, clenching her fist and punching the side of the stable door, “I hate it! I just wanted to be able to do something on my own and instead I got a trinket.”

She said she hated how things were, how they were both going to have to be forced into wealthy marriages, how they couldn’t do what they wanted, how they couldn’t go out and spend time with friends unless supervised by caretakers. Everything.  
But she said she’d never hate him.

But her blue ribbon meant nothing. She didn’t earn it; it was bought for her. That was enough for her to want to quit competition.

Quit.

Was it actually possible to quit something just like that? Koharu’s words made Ui reflect on things in a different way…trying to find another way out wouldn’t be easy, but if it were possible, he’d sure try.

\--

“What’s…The Commission Of Counter Ghoul?” 

Ui had just handed his sister his admission application for joining the CCG’s Academy, he’d seemingly found his escape route. Ui had done his research on the place, it first didn’t sound very intriguing at first but then he saw it as an opportunity by hitting two birds with one stone. He was going to work hard for his part and while doing so; he would be serving justice to the human race. Best part was – no extra cash would promise him a spot anywhere; it all came down to his own abilities. 

Explaining that to his younger sister was a challenge, she scoffed at the fact that he wanted to hunt _ghouls_ – at least she understood the importance of a human’s life. But that too was why being an investigator could change the world for not just him but the lives he could save.  
He wouldn’t be living at home anymore; he’d be living in the dorms there for convenience sake. That was the trigger for his sister to become resistant to the idea.

“So, you’re going to leave me here by myself?”

“You’re not by yourself.”

“Yes I am! I don’t have any friends but you! The nannies are hags and the servants are a bore.”

“Koharu!”

He then continued to explain that by him doing this, it would get him out of the marriage deals, the one’s he so badly needed to get out of! That was probably his biggest and most prominent reason. He wasn’t abandoning his sister; he was just finding a way to save himself for a little while. 

“Mother and Father won’t be pleased…but I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to be an investigator.”

“You sure…you want to do that?”

“There’s too many things already telling me it’s the better option.”

Koharu glanced down at the form, then up at her brother, her brows were furrowed and yet she was smirking, 

“Well…I wish you luck, He-man.”

“Oi.”

“But if you’re He-man would that make me, Adora!” She proclaimed, standing on top of the chair and putting a fist in the air, “because I’m going with you!”

**What?! NO!**

Shaking his head, Ui urged his sister to sit down telling her this was not a tag-along type of thing; this was his thing! Last thing he wanted was for her to out there and get herself injured! Though was he in a position to say that?  
But Koharu, being Koharu, was as bossy as ever and insisted on that when she was older she would follow behind him and join the academy! 

“I want to be able to do it on my own too – mom and dad won’t buy us in this time – you’ll see Koori-bro! We’ll be the best investigators in the world! I just have one question.”

“Hmm?”

“What’s a…ghoul?”

\--

Indeed, Mr and Mrs. Ui weren’t pleased with their son’s career choice, but not for the same reasons that his sister had been first resistant to; they were upset because he may not be able to continue the family name.   
With Koharu wanting to follow in his footsteps it certainly created that much more drama and unpleasant phone calls that he’d receive at odd hours. It was always about money – why? He’d lived this long to realize that money couldn’t buy him happiness. It could get him a spouse, but it wouldn’t get him love.

So now his future was in his own hands, he wouldn’t be able to lean on anyone anymore to get to where he wanted to be. He had to work hard to climb ranks, to kill ghouls, to get weapons; the only obstacle in his way now was to make relationships with his soon-to-be co-workers. 

\--

Years had passes and Koharu had waited very impatiently for the time when she would finally ready to join the academy; to follow the example that her successful brother had set for her. By this point, he was certainly making a point for himself at the CCG, already becoming a recognizable face and created his own aura for when he would step in the room; though more grim then she used to remember. But he should be honored, because now his name was only the symbol of a good solider, not a wealthy inhibitor. 

The first day, Koharu had arrived at one of the large lecture halls for an introduction meeting with some of the other new students. It was overwhelming, seeing so many faces that she would soon be working beside, learning, training, practicing techniques for murdering ghouls. But she would not let this little fear get the better of her because after all, her brother made it through this institution and he was already sitting with some of the top dogs.  
Not knowing anyone didn’t really bother her as she took a seat at one of the more vacant rows, placing some of her textbooks in front of her neatly and sharpening her pencil while she waited for the instructor to come in. But then, there was a loud ‘thump’ coming from the stairs that lead down to the seats, a girl tripped on her way down and managed to fall right by the entrance of Koharu’s isle. _What a clodhopper._

“I’m sorry, let me just slip through here.” The girl said, now trying to make it look like she didn’t just tumble down a small flight of stairs and tried to wiggle her way through some other individuals to find a seat. Her hair was so blonde it looked like it could be transparent. But what was with those childish bows? “I’m going to sit here, if that’s okay?”

When Koharu glanced next to her again, the blonde was standing up with the biggest smile on her face and her books starting to loose some of their pages. At least she would be no competition. Shrugging, Koharu sat up in her seat and rolled her eyes.

“Sure. I don’t really care.”

“Oh good!” the blonde chirped, taking a seat right next to the raven haired woman, even starting to hum a song; how annoying. But she didn’t seem to catch onto Koharu’s bad attitude and instead stuck out a hand towards her, “I’m Marie Kitami by the way.”

However, while she may have had the good intensions of making a good first impression, Koharu could only stare at the hand – who does this? – But also thinking about the impression this chick already made just entering the room. Hesitantly, she took the hand and could already feel the strong, confident grip of Kitami’s,

“Koharu Ui.”

“Well, here’s to our survival, Ui-chan.”

Koharu gritted her teeth inside her mouth, she wasn’t really hoping to befriend anyone here right away, but this girl seemed to have…other plans in mind. The entire time, Kitami would whisper to her and even got caught by the professor a couple of times – even dragging her into the mess. How embarrassing. But when she glanced over at the blonde’s work, she noticed how neat and pretty her notes were and the variety of coloured pens she used. But none of that mattered unless she was actually absorbing the information. _What an airhead._

After the lecture, Koharu managed to ditch Kitami in the rush out of the hall to make her way to her Bio class which was least to say more peaceful and straight foreword now that she didn’t have someone trying to talk her ear off the entire time. But least to say there was another - distraction. A posh, young lady who was sitting in the front row, raised her hand in the middle of one of the slides to ask a ridiculous question, 

“Excuse me. But once we kill the ghoul does that mean we’ll…have to analyze it on scene?” 

Her accent made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t from Japan, but it sure did sound cool. 

The professor turned to her, lifting his classes up his impassive face,

“I’d prefer if you left questions until the end, Ayase, but since I’m sure some of you also have the same question in mind I’ll be clear. Depending on what you are doing and where you are you can depend on the sweep team to collect the bodies or”

His words slipped right past Koharu’s ears, she was too busy staring down at the other girl whom asked the question. She looked to be about Koharu’s age, seemingly studious with the way she was glancing up at the board…though often glancing back down at a small pocket mirror where she’d every so often fix her lip gloss. Good god lipstick wouldn’t do that girl any good. What was she planning on doing? Seducing the ghouls?!

Luckily, that was her last class for the day until she was finally able to go and find the dorm that she was staying in. All her luggage had already been sent there so she didn’t have to worry about lugging it around the campus. 

“345…346…347…348…” With so many identical doors, it was a bore to try and find the room she was supposed to be staying in. She was supposed to have a roommate too, but as long as they weren’t sneaking in people to have sex they wouldn’t bother her. This campus certainly wasn’t the Ui Estate but it was better then being stuck home with the servants alone most of the time, “349…Ah-ha! 350.” Shuffling out her key, Koharu opened the door to smack right into her roommate, Literality!  
“Ouch!” Rubbing her forehead that started to form a goose egg, Koharu would have scolded the person…if not for it being someone she’d already met. 

“Owwie…” The klutzy blonde rubbed her own forehead, clearly fighting back tears before she too noticed whom she’d just bumped into, “Oh! It’s you Ui-chan! You’re my room mate?!”

“It’s you…” Koharu muttered under her breath and pushing her way inside, “you’re following me like a bad dream.” Luckily Kitami didn’t catch the last bit. 

The dorm was a pretty decent size for two people to live in. In the back was the shared bedroom and small living space; there was the small kitchen unit and one bathroom with a closet. But the amount of pillows and plushies that were on Kitami’s bed made the raven-haired girl wonder if there would be enough room for the blonde herself.  
Koharu couldn’t change the fact that this annoying individual was her roommate, but she could divide the bedroom in half at least.   
“Kitami…just keep all you tacky things to your side of the room.”  
“Okay.” She sang, tossing one of the stuffed animals in the air as Koharu started to take out a few of her own mementos, mostly pictures, and placed them on her end table catching the blonde’s eye, “did you…ride?”

“I used to- well, I still do I just…I don’t jump.”

“You used to jump? On horseback. Whoa…”

“It’s not that cool,” Koharu couldn’t deny the fact that Kitami was starting to bring her some deja vu, she used to see it in amazement too - she still does. But her parents ruined it for her, “It’s a pretty common sport where I come from.”  
Then flopping herself onto her own free bed, covering her face with her arm to try and close her eyes for a moment, Kitami was soon peering over her and when she looked up they nearly bumped heads again! “Have you ever heard of a personal bubble?!”

“A what?” Kitami asked, snatching the photo of Koharu on her horse,

“Hey-“

“Who’s she?” Kitami asked pointing to a younger Ui in the photo, “Is she your sister?”

“Sister?” she scoffed back, trying ever so hard not to laugh out loud but a comment of innocence was enough to break that ice. But her obnoxious laughter only seemed to confused the poor girl sitting next to her, “she’s- no I mean- He’s my brother!”

“Eh? Really?” Kitami squinted at the photo a little bit, “oooooooh, now I see it! I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be, I tell him he looks like a girl all the time.” 

Then, both of them started to laugh, they howled so hard that they looked more like seals slapping their legs but no words were coming out.   
Sometimes they’d shriek through their laughter and even had a complaint come from one of their next-door neighbors; that only made them laugh harder!

So maybe this Kitami chick wasn’t so bad. She might have been a little annoying but at least she was friendly and had a sense of humor that they could connect with. But the best part was, she didn’t see Koharu as a Ui, she saw her like a regular, everyday girl. No one has done that willingly before.

\--

Since then, Koharu and Kitami had become quite the pair of friends; they did just about everything together – though that was mostly because Kitami followed her around like a puppy. But Koharu had to admit that annoying shadow was nice to have, even if she didn’t always like seeing it every minute of everyday. But she was willing to study with her, to train, and she was a pretty good cook too and even showed Koharu a thing or too on how to do things. 

“That’ll be it for today. Just remember Investigator Mado will be coming in for a speech tomorrow!”   
Koharu and Kitami had just finished up with practical quinque training and had once again been fighting their way to be at the top of their class. Koharu was flying up the board! But as for Kitami she was just managing to stay center stage. 

“Hey, can we grab some milksh- OOF!” Kitami was just about to turn her body around to put her practice quinque away if not for someone body checking her on their way out, someone with bright, flowing pink hair. Though that person was moving so fast neither of them managed to catch her face, “You’re supposed to say sorry!” 

“Never mind her, Kitami.” Koharu said, taking the quinque and putting it away for her, “and did you seriously just ask me to go out for a milkshake? You know I don’t do sweets.”

“But I do!” 

“Then you go, I want to do a cool down run then I have to meet up with my brother.”

“Oh- I’ll come with you. On the run I mean!”

 

Koharu could have sworn this was Karma getting back at her. She used to do this to Ui when they were younger and now that it was happening to her, she was starting to understand why Ui used to get annoyed. Oh well. 

Once they finished their run, Kitami went to fetch them some towels to dry off some sweat before hitting the showers. Only Koharu was hit by another obstacle! Some idiot ran right into her with enough force to bring them both tumbling into the grass! 

“My glasses! I’m blind!” The brunette shouted, feeling around the grass for her missing spectacles. Why was she running without them in the first place? But even when Kitami came back and offered the rude girl shot it down instantly. Really, this place was filled with weird people. 

After their showers, there was a commotion going on in the main hall and naturally, Kitami managed to drag Koharu along to check it out. 

“I’m going to be late-“

“Come on, just a quick look!”

It looked like every student in the building was in the hall, everyone gathering to glance at the screen that stated the announcement for applications to the CCG’s newest experiment. Quinx.   
They were going to be selecting a handful of students to participate in the operation, to take on part of the form of their own enemies. If it should reign successful, then humanity would have found it’s newest weapon to take back their position on the food chain. Sure, it was risky…but it intrigued her. If she were to be able to go through with this…she just might be able to prove that she really was independent – she didn’t need to depend on money to give her fulfillment. Yes, Koharu Ui had selected her new course of action.

“Hey, Kitami, where’s the application forms?”

\--

“You’re late!” those were the first words to come out of her brother’s mouth when Koharu arrived at the bar they agreed to meet at. Sure, she might have been…a couple of hours later then she planned but all for a good reason, “You better have a good excuse.”

“What’s with you? Man period?” Koharu teased, swiping one of the cigarettes out of the little box he left laying on the table, “I’m taking one!”

“Oi, you don’t even-“

“Who says I don’t?” She asked, shoving the stick between her lips and demanding he hand her his lighter too. Once she was able to light the tip, she accidently sucked in too soon and nearly choked herself! Ui could only rub his forehead as he watched her struggle to get her air back, “I knew you-“

“I’M FINE!” She yelled, calling the barista and ordering herself a beer, “But really what’s with you? You’re...edgy.”

Her brother let out a groan, finishing the foam at the end of his own mug,

“My partner’s a pain in the ass. She needs a fire cracker to get going sometimes.”

“Oh, Ihei?” Koharu had heard a few stories of her brother’s work partner, Hairu Ihei, and honestly she didn’t think she was as bad as Ui made her out to be; he probably didn’t like the fact that she was friendly and willing to grin for the sake of it. In fact, Koharu thought Ui was just looking at the glass half empty…or maybe he just wasn’t honest with himself, “Geezz Koori, ever looked in a mirror? Maybe Ihei’s not the problem, maybe you’re the problem.”

“Shut up Koharu. You don’t have to work with her.”

“Oh but I will!” She said putting her cigarette between her fingers and taking a few large gulps of the beer that was handed to her, “I might be there sooner then you think?”

“What?”

Whipping her chin with her sleeve, Koahru pulled out the flyer she received after submitting the application to become a Quinx. Ui snatched it from her and began reading it over, though he was probably only scanning over the bolded words.   
Then, his head whipped towards her again, a smug expression crossing her features,

“Why so shocked? Don’t think I’ll get picked?”

“I don’t want you to get picked!” his voice brittle, “Koharu – do you know what you’ve signed up for?”

“To be a quinx.”

“To become **a ghoul!** ” she watched as her gripped onto the paper, nearly ripping it, “by becoming one of these – these things – you’re practically becoming the enemy. I thought you had a little more sense ingrained in your head.”

“I read the fine print!” she responded, “I know what I want to get myself into. You should have seen the line to sign up today – Kitami even put in a-“

“If your friend jumps off a bridge would you jump too? This – This is just unethical. I respect the CCG and it’s choices but when it comes to something as delicate as this- they could end up creating more of them instead of getting rid of the virus. To think my own sister would decide to-“

“I’m old enough to make my own choices Koori! I’m not going back on my decision” Koharu knew that he brother found this to be a very sensitive subject; she knew this wasn’t something that one could easily brush over. This was a big deal and if she got selected she would be giving up her body to the weapon. But she had a nose for justice too, “I want to make a difference. If this experiment really does go as planned then…I would be helping in a different light.”

“You’d be nothing but a fool.” He said, slamming the money to pay for her drink on the table and slipping on his coat, “an adult would have at least slept on it…you rushed into it.” He was quick to make his exit, but his sister had to get in one last comment and she made sure he heard her,

“Oh yeah, well maybe a real man would come clean with his feelings about things instead of hide them like a **coward!** ” 

Turning his head back at her for a moment, he scowled then made his way out,  
“I won’t protect you anymore if this is the choice you want to make. I don’t see how I’m hiding anything when I make it perfectly clear as to how I feel about this. Good luck Koharu.”

\--

Both of the Ui siblings needed a little space after their disagreement. But she should’ve known that her brother wouldn’t have been on board with the idea, he hated anything to do with ghouls…he’d certainly taken his role very seriously. But it said that the RC cells would still be within range of being human, so she didn’t see the big deal.

“Hey, we’ve got mail Ui-chan!” Kitami called, racing into their dorm with a few letters in hand…although there were two very particular looking ones within that pile…one addressed to each of them.  
Carefully, Koharu opened the seal to her letter and read hers aloud, though only scanning over it until she reached the end where she nearly screamed,

“Congratulations Ms Koharu Ui, we are proud to inform that you are one of the selected to be registered in the quinx experiment-!” though Kitami seemed to have taken over the screaming part as she squealed and threw herself on top of Koharu, 

“Kitami-“

“This means we’ll get to work together! Right? Partners in crime!”

But Koharu shook her head; crime wasn’t the right word to use.

“No, partners in justice.”

She knew Ui wouldn’t be thrilled about the news…but she was will to accept this new fate. She was ready to start this new section of her life, unaware of the challenges, but to expect the unexpected at least. 

Within that week, everyone was prepped for surgery…then they were to meet up at the headquarters to be assigned to their squads.   
Being separated between the regular experiment as well as a female only group, but even to this day she still couldn’t believe the faces she saw that had gone through the surgery as well. Even worse, the one’s who’s been assigned to work under her. Koharu and Kitami were assigned to be part of the beta-quinx, a group of only female-only investigators to go against the test of time and endurance. 

“Hey, you’re that person I bumped into!” the brunette with glasses approached the Ui with a stride in her step, “See, I told you I’d find my glasses!” Then, she shoved a hand at Koharu and Kitami, “the name’s Brooke. Brooke Akita.”

What was with all the hand shaking?

“And I’m Michiko Ayase,” the pretty young woman took a step foreword and lowered her head towards the other girls in a professional manner, “I look forward to working with you all.”

“Like-wise.” 

“That just leaves…who are you?!” Brooke asked, nearly jumping as the pinkette that body checked Kitami a little while ago emerge from the shadows, “fuck you need to warn someone when you do that!”

“Akita, watch your mouth!” Michiko said rigidly, but Brooke was never one to take advice or a scolding first hand,

“Well, say your name!”

The pinkette didn’t even lift her head to make eye contact with any of them, instead she looked towards the floor and whispered out her introduction,

“I’m Carma Kimura, pleased…to meet you.”

 _The klutz, the snob, the brute, and the demure._ what kind of group was this?! Would it even be possible to work with people like this…? Glancing towards the regular quinx that had made their own intros…it was clear that they had a mix of individuals as well. What was the CCG thinking?! Maybe Ui was right…maybe this whole thing was unethical. 

To top it off, Koharu had been selected to be the leader of the designated group for her outstanding performance in her scores in class and on the field. 

Her first step as being leader…was to learn how to be one.


	32. Girls Just Want to Have Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second part to Koharu's backstory!
> 
> Next week we'll jump right back into the main story! 
> 
> Thanks everyone and enjoy <333

“Whoa! This place is **huge**!” Brooke exclaimed as she and her new fellow squad mates walked inside their new Villa. For convenience sake, the CCG purchased both the quinx’s Chateau as well as the Beta’s Villa! To Brooke, Kitami, Michiko, and Carma, walking into this large house was like walking into a castle. But to Koharu, it was like walking into a shack. Oh well, this place was only good for sleeping anyways. 

“Just look at this fancy fire place,” Michiko exclaimed, running her finger over the American styled mantle only to collect a small bundle of dust collect, “clearly the CCG couldn’t bother to hire a cleaner.”

“Never mind that, Ayase. Cleaning can wait, just get your things unpacked and then we should get to the training grounds. Mado said she wants all the quinx to-“ 

“Koharu’s right, and who cares about the cleaning?! I say the first to the top gets the biggest room!” Brooke yelled from the _top_ of the staircase, leaning over the side so far she looked like she might fall! But that didn’t seem to be the concern for anyone as Koharu watched both Marie and Michiko race up after her. 

“Hey! We should at least make a vote!” The blonde whined,

“Yes! Where am I supposed to put all my clothes?!” Michiko added,

“Bend over and I’ll show you _where you can put them_.” The brunette laughed, slamming the master bedroom’s door behind her with the other two banging on it with their fists! Hopefully they would be wise enough to keep their kagune’s at bay.

Honestly, how did Koharu get stuck with a group like this? Handshaking, first names off the bat, savage quirks…she certainly had her hands full. Putting a hand to her head, she glanced over at the pinkette who looked just as perturbed by their friend’s actions. 

“Please tell me you’re not going to beg for the biggest room too?”

She shook her head slightly, some of her pink locks falling over her face,

“No, I’ll take whatever’s left over. Size doesn’t matter.”

“You’re right…it doesn’t.” So she was a little quiet, at least Carma didn’t act like a disobedient middle schooler. 

 

So Brooke did end up getting the largest room, Koharu didn’t care anymore then Carma did and happily accepted one of the smaller ones. Though it wasn’t that small, it was cozier then the one back at the Ui manor; just enough space for a few of her trinkets and photographs.  
She hated to admit it, but Koharu was just like her brother, a minimalist. 

Then there was the rest of her group.

Kitami’s room was very colourful to say the least, but it also gave off a very vintage vibe. Koharu even spotted a record player with stacks of albums, most being vintage American singers. She didn’t even notice that she also had a collection of bows sitting on the top of her dresser…were these in the dorm too?

Carma’s room was surprisingly disorganized and chaotic. She had lots of things herself but little space to put it. She seemed to have an interest in gardening, as there were plenty of garden magazines and pressed flowers in frames. It’s good to have hobbies and something to be passionate about; Koharu respected Carma for having one.

Michiko was very much like Koharu in her expensive tastes, but she had lots of everything; there were only designer brands and popular names. But her actual room was just as stunning as the clothes she wore. So many beautiful art pieces of landmarks and locations in London…so is that where she’s from? 

The there was Brooke’s room. When Koharu poked her head inside, she felt like she just stepped into a ship that was just about to take leave of the dock. She had so many random things…like what was with that ship in a bottle? Or that stuffed otter? Nothing went with anything else! No wonder she wanted the biggest room!  
But to top it off, Brooke even claimed that she just ordered beanbag chairs for the living space. _Why?_

However Koharu couldn’t make that her top concern right now, she just had to shove them out of the Villa and get them all down to the training grounds before they’d miss the train there! 

“Don’t rush me! I need to finish unpacking everything first! They’ve been squished long enough!” Kitami whined as she took out a stuffed fox and wolf, notably compressed.

“Yes, I say we should finish getting settled…I want to help Carma fix that tornado in her room.” Michiko added though Carma just closed the door to her room instead.  
But it didn’t matter what they said, she was the squad leader and therefor had to take charge! _Be assertive!_

“Well your things will still be here when we get back! Now come on or Investigator Mado-“

“Get your panties out of a knot Koharu,” Brooke groaned, “We’ll get there when we get there. Better late then never!”

“No that is not how things work! And please Akita-“

“Brooke! Just call me Brooke! If we’re already living together don’t you think first names are fine to use?”

Right. Not only was she working with them…she was living with them. How could she forget that in a matter of seconds?

But of course with her dawdling group she should’ve seen it coming that getting them out of the Villa on time would be impossible. It was like dealing with disobedient little children. 

Missing the train was their first mistake, walking to the Qs training session during Mado’s introduction speech was their second because when she spotted them she made sure that everyone in the area knew. Haise and his squad almost looked sorry for them too. 

“Investigator Ui. You’ve made a rather…lousy impression for day one.”

“I’m sorry, but we missed the train-“

“I know you’re late, but I’m referring to your squad’s attire.” Akira pointed towards Michiko who was wearing heels! _Oh my god_ , “I’m not sure how she wants to perform properly in those unless she plans on sitting out.”

It just passed her vision and frame of mind of what she was wearing…sure Kitami was wearing higher flats too but she had a better chance to grip the ground. Michiko was vulnerable.  
But she didn’t know what to say to her. She couldn’t go back and she couldn’t force them all out of the session because she was brainless enough not to think of wearing the proper gear. And yet Koharu still held full responsibility…because she was supposed to be guiding them. But it was like blind leading the blind; she didn’t know what she was doing! 

“I’m pretty sure I can stand my own like this.” Michiko said, sticking her nose in the air, “besides I want to-“

“Don’t get full of yourself, Mado’s right, you can’t train like that, you’re not experienced enough.” Urie Kuki, a man from the other Qs squad scoffed and folded his arms over his chest.

“Excuse me?!”

“That’s not nice Urie…” Mutsuki Tooru mumbled out, more like whispered. This managed to shut him up though.

“Please excuse him, I promise his bark is worse then his bite.” Haise said, eyeing his squad member then glancing at Michiko who looked a little helpless now that she’d been called out, “What’s your shoe size?”

“What?”

“Your shoes size.” Then, Haise retrieved something out of a small pack that was leaning against the bench and carried it over to her, a pair of ladies sneakers? “I brought these with me in case Saiko decided to show up today…but since she didn’t I guess she wouldn’t mind you borrowing these if they fit. At least this way they’ll be put to use.”

Saiko’s feet must’ve been huskier then most would have thought because by a miracle, the shoes were the perfect size for her. Michiko was able to rejoin the group and start their first real day of training. But Mado certainly didn’t let their tardiness go unpunished because the amount of laps they had to run had them all doubling over.

\--

“Arima looked so professional giving his lecture!” Hairu Ihei exclaimed as she, Koori Ui, Hirako Take, the kids, and Arima Kishou exited one of the main buildings on the Academy’s main campus, “I would have been so scared speaking in front of so many people.”

“You’ll have to do lectures one day too you know.” Ui replied, though a little bitter, “so you better get over that fear!”

So she could mercilessly take down ghouls with a smile on her face, but she was afraid of public speaking? Really he couldn’t pin down this girl, but at least she kept things interesting.  
But to Ui, he found the lecture rather dull. Arima spoke so monochromatically he nearly dozed off a couple of times! Or maybe It was because he was already aware of the information and was there just acting as support. 

Making their way out of the campus, the Zero Squad all stopped in place as they approached the training grounds where they watched as both Mado and Haise were properly instructing and teaching the new comers of their kagunes.  
Haise was instructing basic usage while Akira was teaching techniques and tricks into getting close to enemies.  
Normally, Ui would have just passed by this as he saw this as a waist of time and good materials to be working on such a project. But seeing that one of them was his sister, even he couldn’t walk off without wanting to watch.  
It was something out of a horror movie, watching as his little sister unleashed her own deathly weapon; a pair of wing-like structures emerged out of her back and a kakugan spreading across her face like a virus. It still irked him to think that she actually got selected.

“I’m guessing she’s your sister?” Hirako asked, though Ui desperately wished he didn’t,

“Sister…you have a sister Koori?” Hairu asked, glancing over at the other Ui across the way, “You never told me that.”

“You never asked.”

“Oh…well maybe I should say hi later! What’s her name?” 

“Koharu.”

If Hairu wanted to meet her…He wouldn’t stand in her way. He just didn’t see the point of having two separate parts of his life come in contact.

“Whoa! Look at them! They're so fast.” Shio exclaimed, watching Shirazu and Brooke practice their aim on some targets. It really did look like they were having fun though with the smiles on their faces and the joyous screams.

“They’re something alright.” Rikai agreed, her attention falling onto Michiko’s pretty, glowing bikaku that reminded her of a flower; even the way she handled it was graceful!

But, not all of them were handling their new weaponry with that same kind of grace. Kitami seemed to struggle with keeping in control of all 9 tails of her Rinkaku. She even tripped over a couple of them just by walking! But she didn’t seem too bothered by it; instead she got right back up and laughed it off. Though she only fell down again. Yusa had to admit seeing that kind of behavior was refreshing and amusing, though he had to put his head down so that no one was able to see the pink tint in his cheeks. 

“Hey, can we stay and watch?” Shio asked, turning towards both Arima and Hirako for an answer, Hairu also seemed to be on board with the idea as she turned to her younger cousin.

“Yeah I think that’s a great idea! Besides I’d like to meet Ui’s sister after words.”

Why was she so insistent on meeting her? Ui glanced at Hirako who agreed, then at Arima,

“If you want to stay and watch, that’s fine. I have another lecture to do so I’ll head there on my own.” The reaper didn’t even bother to glance towards the new Qs, instead he adjusted his glasses on his face and turned himself to continue walking down the path, “I’ll meet you all back at headquarters.”  
Haise Sasaki, leader of the original Quinx, was very fond of Arima and Arima was of him. The CCG’s reaper was also in charge of tending to the Qs groups with Akira Mado.  
When Ui first heard of this he was surprised that the two of them were so willing to go along with it…he knew the origins of Kaneki Ken. But now it seemed like Arima was putting in his efforts solely on Haise. Why? They all needed some attention… _not just the ghoul._

Ui would never forgive his stupid sister for getting herself into this mess either, but she was brave to do something like this out of her own sense of Justice.

As the remaining zero squad members approached the training Qs, Ui couldn’t help but feel in awe as he witnessed up close the powers that Koharu now truly possessed.  
_It was so strange to see her that way and yet it suited her._  
She certainly was showing off the skills of what it meant to come out as one of the top of her class. She was strong, quick, and yet nothing more then a young investigator with lots of things yet to learn. 

“That’s not how one closes in on your opponent.” He mumbled out, watching as Koharu tried to close in on Urie only to be pushed back instantly, “he’s able to read her body language.”

“You have no mercy, do you Ui?” Hirako said letting out a sigh, “Give her a break, this is day one.”

“No I will not give her a break! She needs to fix her form.” Then Ui watched as her kakugan shot in their direction, she must’ve heard them! Damn it he forgot that with these new abilities, it meant that their senses would also be enhanced. But she listened, she fixed herself and was able to catch Shirazu off guard and pinned him to the group with ease. So did this mean she had selective hearing when it came to him or did she actually value his opinion? No, if she did she wouldn’t have done this surgery in the first place. 

\--

“I’m so tired!” Brooke heaved as she flopped to the ground as her Ukaku retreated back into her body, “I hardly even have energy to talk!”

“Thank goodness.” Michiko whispered to Koharu who couldn’t help but snicker in return. They all worked really hard, Mutsuki, Shirazu, and Urie too! Haise didn’t even break a sweat; but he had been at this a lot longer then the rest of them so he at least had experience on his side.  
But Koharu found it quite a surprise that her brother had stopped to watch them train, she thought he’d given up on her or something. But even if he showed up he couldn’t put his pride aside to actually give her compliment on her performance. She listened to his advice. But what made her feel a little discouraged was how Arima didn’t’ even bother as to look in their direction at all! If he was supposed to be one of the supervisors how come he didn’t come to _supervise_ or at least say hello?! If he was so ‘godly and regal’ he sure didn’t seem like it, not to Koharu anyways. But to say that would be a sin to the CCG.  
Just as Koharu was to lean over and fetch a bottle of water, a shadow loomed over her and when she looked up, she was greeted by another unfamiliar face!

“Can I help you?”

“You’re Koharu Ui, yes?” this young woman had the biggest, brightest green eyes Koharu had even seen, and her hair was the colour of newly bloomed cherry blossoms. She was wearing a uniform similar to what her brother wore…did that mean she was an investigator? How did she know who she was? Was word out that fast already?  
Standing up and dusting her knees, the raven-haired investigator nodded,

“Yes, that’s right. Who are you?”

“I’m Hairu Ihei, second class! I’m investigator Ui’s partner, um, your brother!”

Oh, so this was Hairu. Wow. She was so pretty… for a moment Koharu was even a little jealous as her eyes lowered to the woman’s chest. 

“Hello, Ihei, my brother has told me many things about you.” Though what he said wasn’t the important factor. But she seemed surprised by that response, her cheeks even a little flushed,

“He has? Really?”

“Yeah.” _Why is it such a surprise? Is he super secretive in the work place or something?_ Koharu assumed she’d figure that out soon enough anyways. But just as she was about to turn back to her squad, assuming that Hairu would be on her merry way as well, but the pinkette quickly jumped back in front of her with a cheeky grin on her face,

“Now I see the resemblance,” Hairu chortled, “Like brother, like sister. Eyes to the sky! But to be honest I’m glad that you’re in the CCG you know, it’s so nice to see more investigators my age around here!”

“What?”

“I’m surrounded by old men,” Hairu whispered a smile growing across her lips, “So…you’re all kinda like a blessing.”

“You don’t even know us - me.”

“Maybe not but I’d like to! After all, life’s short.” 

This girl was persistent, but she seemed friendly enough and if she was seeking friendship…maybe Koharu had to be a little more flexible. Besides she seemed more her speed then the rest of her crazy squad. Who knows, maybe this Hairu would end up being her safe haven. 

She’d humor her a little.

Returning the smile, Koharu decided to take on Brooke’s way of sealing the deal to acquaintanceship by sticking out her hand and gesturing towards a shake, this clearly catching this girl off guard as it once did to her. But Hairu took it more confidently and even laughed. Though when she glanced back at her squad, she spotted some pre-teens that were mingling with them as well as another man with the stillest poker face she’d ever seen.  
Then there was her brother, stiff and isolated as ever as he stood oddly to the side, nodding in greeting. 

“You know what, we should have a party!” Shirazu spoke out of the blue, catching everyone in the area by surprise, “you know, like a little get together party! We’re all going to be working together right? So we should all get to know each other over some drinks!”

“A party…?” Mutsuki looked thoughtful on the idea, though turning his attention to Haise who also looked considerate. Urie, however, didn’t look to keen on the idea. 

“OOhh! That sounds like a great idea!” Kitami exclaimed, “I’d love to talk to everyone outside of the CCG!”

“Watch yourself Kitami,” Michiko said, though a smile was starting to grow on her own face, “But it does sound like fun, doesn’t it? Can I bring the bubbles?”

“I’ll…do what everyone else wants to do.” Carma said, her eyes glossy as she gazed over the group, “What about you Brooke?”

“You had me at drinks!” She said, jumping back on her feet with ease. Wow, she was easy to motivate. 

“You know, that’s not a bad idea Shirazu,” Haise finally conceded, “We should host it at the Chateau! I’m sure Saiko won’t mind either…I’ll even invite the Suzuya Squad.”

Hirako turned down his invitation as well as for the kids, he didn’t want them to be in that kind of environment; Ui also declined. Koharu would have also said no as she wasn’t much for parties, but since everyone else was so eager who was she to be the party pooper? 

“Mind if I tag along too?” Hairu asked, shuffling herself closer to Koharu much to Ui’s clear annoyance as he narrowed his gaze at them. But Haise happily welcomed her open armed,

“You can come too Akira, if you want.”

“Thank you but I have a busy night at the office. Just drink smart, all of you.”

 

Now with every excited about the party happening that night, Ui finally approached Koharu and pulled her aside to share some words of wisdom. Or something.

“Do you think that’s such a good idea Koharu?” He seemed pissed about this, but it really did seem harmless. Just some friends and some drinks. 

“It’s fine. I won’t be drinking that much.”

“I’m not worried about you I’m worried about your squad. What if they drink too much and you have to deal with them. Would a good leader allow their squad to make fools out of themselves?”

Koharu hadn’t known them long enough to know if they had any bad habits while drunk, but they should all be fine as long as she was sober. She’d even set a time. 

Besides…she was pretty excited now too. She wanted to get to know people outside of the working environment. Even on day 1.

Brushing her brother aside, she swished her hair over her shoulder and hummed, 

“Don’t make assumptions Koori. We’re all adults, we’ll behave.”

“I don’t know Koharu...to me it looks like you’ll have your hands full. Just watch yourself.”

“Yeah yeah and don’t do anything you wouldn’t.”

“Exactly.”

\--

The beta quinx squad was the last to arrive to the chateau and to say the least, they were beginning to make it a bad habit and making sure the world knew too. 

“Alright, I’m here and your life just got better!” Brooke savagely shoved her way inside with two packs of beer in her hands and was immediately taken in by Shirazu and Saiko. As for Koharu and the other 3, they were left at the doorway trying to figure out where to go first, none being so foreword out of the gate as their other squad mate.

But soon after, Michiko and Kitami were quick to make their way to mingle with Mutsuki whilst Carma stayed close to her squad leader like a puppy. 

“You must be Koharu Ui! The leader of the other quinx right?” a short man with bright stitches decorating parts of his face and arms exclaimed, “Haise has told us about you!”

Koharu didn’t know who exactly this person was, but she turned to the other Qs leader for some much needed introductions. 

_So this was Juuzou Suzuya_ , he certainly was not what Koharu had expected out of an Associate Special Class Investigator. Though really looking at her lot she shouldn’t be talking. Following behind Juuzou was the rest of his team, a very nice squad she’d admit.

“So, Investigator Ui is your brother,” Nakarai Keijin asked, “Does that mean you get privet tutoring too? Training? Insights?”

“No! My Brother is- just doing his job as I will do mine.”

So not all of the Suzuya squad was to Koharu’s fancy, they had every right to think that she might be getting a better insight to the CCG since her brother was climbing ranks. But he hardly ever discussed anything in high terms with her, even before she was a quinx.  
Minding her way into the party, she was able to meet up with Hairu who looked just as excited to see her and instantly greeted her as they met up at the drink table. Why did Ui have a problem with her? Hairu was so nice, even from knowing her only for a few hours. Talking with her that night over a glass of wine, Hairu vented out to her how lonely it was being one of the youngest in her rank and a female to add to that! 

“I don’t know…Koor- I mean, Ui never even told me he had a sister, never mind one that’s a quinx! So I guess when I saw you I got a little excited…sorry is that weird?”

Koharu took a sip from her wine, shaking her head,

“No, it’s not. I’m sorry if I came out a little rude at first but…I was shocked.”

“Shocked?”

“Yeah, though I had no reason too…ever since coming to this place people just keep approaching me.”

“Take it as a compliment.”

“I guess.” Though thinking back onto those who’ve approached her, she couldn’t help but start to scan the large living room to see what her squad mates were doing and least to say…she was already failing at watching them. 

Brooke was already plastered as she kept trying to turn up the stereo and cursing at poor Mutsuki who was just trying to keep everyone’s eardrums from busting. 

“That’s loud enough Akita,”

“BUT…I want it louder! I don’t wanna….I don’t wanna miss a beat! I need more!”

“No you really don’t…”

Then, glancing around for Michiko, she was still under control as she sipped lightly on her own glass of wine, mingling with a flustered Shirazu and jaunty Juuzou who was happily digging his hand into a bag of candy. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about but it was clear that someone else wanted in on the conversation. Mizurou Tamaki stood to the side with Hanbee behind him, hesitant to approach her,

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind the extra voice.” Hanbee tried to reassure his friend to go foreword and actually say something, but Mizuoru just didn’t have the guts that night and it was funny to watch him take step foreword and then two back. 

Then there was Carma, now sitting contently with Haise and Mikage, just taking part in small chitchat. 

But with out a doubt the most odd and out of place individual in the entire room wasn’t actually Brooke for once, but rather Marie Kitami as she was so drunk she couldn’t even stand through her arrays of giggles. Saiko was the first to move in and see just what was causing this issue, starting by looking at the half empty cup in the blonde’s hands. She had some of the fruit drink, probably assuming that it was alcohol free…

“Who spiked the punch?” Saiko asked, taking a sip herself to investigate, “Maman, did you make it?”

“Actually miss Yonebayashi, I was the one that brought it.” Hanbee confessed, though looking like he was going to cry, “I’m sorry I should have put a warning label next to it! I didn’t think anyone was going to chug it so fast!”

“Don’t blame yourself you bellyaching giant. She’s the idiot for not taking control of her own actions.” Keijin cut in, stepping next to Marie with his arms over his chest, “can you stand?”

Marie just continued to laugh, reaching up to Keijin as a way to ask for a hand to get her on her feet. 

“You’re so strong Nakarai…hehe.” If she was giddy while sober, everyone was sorry to see her drunk, “you know…seeing you this close I think you’re cute! Can you get me another drink?”

“No, you’re cut off Kitami!”

“Whyyyyyy?” She pleaded, eventually putting all her weight onto Keijin who nearly lost his grip, “I wanna another one! Someone…some cheap…some cheap person didn’t fill it up!”

“That would be you.” Keijin sighed, trying to help her walk a little bit to at least get her to the couch only to have her shout,

“NOOO, I WANT YOU TO FILL MY CUP OF LOVE NAKARAI!” 

Okay, now Koharu was starting to get second hand embarrassment and quickly aided Keijin and helped Marie to the sofa, though getting her to now let go of Keijin was the struggle.

“Let go Kitami!”

“Noooo!” She shouted, “I-I want your quinque down-!” 

“Kitami I think you should **shut up**!” Koharu muttered loud enough for her squad mate to hear, “Actually…I think it’s time we went back to the villa.”

“Michikoooo!” Kitami slurred, “Gimmie your shoes! I-I need to tap the heels! There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…”  
Just seeing the state the klutzy blonde was in; Koharu knew that someone else wouldn’t be far behind from this….though she should’ve knocked on wood. 

“Hey, who puked over here?!” Mizuoru asked, stepping back from a long trial of vomit that lead to the bathroom, that in itself was enough for the room to go dead quiet. 

“It was Brooke!” Mutsuki called, running to the bathroom and naturally Koharu followed behind. Though just as they made it there, the brunette herself emerged from with a smile and puke hanging in her hair. Ew.

“Hey Kitami! You were supposed to hold my hair!”

“Kitami has her own problems right now.” Keijin sighed as the blonde girl was trying to jump him from behind, “Oi!”

“Can you take me home Nakarai?”

With the state of her squad, least to say Koharu was humiliated. In the blink of an eye only her group was misbehaving, all being an embarrassment not just to her but also to themselves. So Ui was right, this wasn’t a good idea…  
And this is usually why she didn’t go to parties; something always went wrong…by this time it happened to her.  
But she was their leader and now she was going to take charge. First, she was going to get them home and then she was going to prepare her apology cards…probably an extra large one for Nakarai.

“I’m so sorry Haise…” Koharu lowered her head a little as she and Michiko helped Kitami to her feet and Carma grabbed a bucket in case Brooke were to throw up again. But Haise didn’t look upset; he actually laughed and reassured Koharu that this was to be expected.

“Your squad kept things interesting. Just…make sure they drink lots of water tomorrow.”

Koharu also claimed that she’d return the next day to help clean, seeing that she was responsible for this just as much as for her friends that caused the mess. 

 

On the way back, Hairu offered to go with them to help Koharu get them all home safely. That was another embarrassment…Hairu would probably would be telling her brother all about this crazy night and her carelessness. She’s never hear the end of it.

“I’m sorry that you had to see this too…” Koharu sighed helping Kitami into her bed to which she fell into instantly, “Please…don’t-“  
“Don’t worry, Koori won’t know a thing! This will be just between us…well and between the others too. Besides if he was to find out I doubt you’d be the only one getting an earful.”

“I doubt it...He’s always been hard on me.” Leading Hairu out of the bedroom the two girls went down stairs in search for some silence and their own bottle of wine. They never even finished their first glass at the party. At least it was only the two of them awake now. Though the pinkette didn’t seem overly impressed with how Koharu thought she was the only one who had to bear Ui’s ruthless opinions. 

“You’re not alone there…really.” 

“Is he always pestering you to do this, that, and the other? Ihei, he’s never given me a break…When I wanted to be a quinx he basically spit in my face.”

“He’s your brother,” Hairu sighed, “He cares about you…I wish, I wish I had a family to be concerned about what I did. You’re lucky.”

“There’s no such thing as luck.” Koharu alleged, “A flower doesn’t chose where it will grow… sometimes it has to make a choice of how beautiful it will bloom even if they have extend their stems a little higher for others to see. I want recognition for my own accomplishments you know. Not for Koori’s or my families’, just me.” Though the words came out of her mouth more so then her head, Koharu couldn’t help but lookover at the other investigator as she gave a weak smile,

“Yeah…I can believe that. I want…I want to bloom so beautiful that… _he’ll_ stop and smile at me again.”

Koharu didn’t quite understand what Hairu meant, but whatever it was it sounded like she had her mind set on a type of independence too. Lifting her glass up towards the pinkette, the two clinked their glasses to motivate each other to accomplish their separate goals. Different and yet so similar…

“Here’s to us! And to a crazy night that Koori will never get word of!”

“Right on!”

So the night was more chaotic then Koharu would’ve preferred, she was able to get two things out of that night,

A best friend,

And a realization that being a leader of a squad wasn’t an easy task and that if advice came her way she should listen to it or at least consider. 

_I’m sorry Koori._

\--

“Have minute?” Koharu asked as she found her brother smoking on one of the balconies of headquarters the following week. He didn’t seem too bothered by her presence and motioned for her to join him, “You should try a new brand…why not get the flavored ones?” Koharu asked as the _Hope_ cigarette fell into her hand and soon lighting it next to him, 

“I like _my_ brand.” He said flatly, blowing out a puff of smoke, “So, how was the party”

“Cutting to the chase huh?” Koahru laughed sheepishly, trying to not think too hard on the events that occurred otherwise they might slip past her lips, “Oh you know…same old stuff. I just- me and Ihei had a glass of wine and that was it.”

“Really? That’s what she said too.” 

“Yeah!” then taking in a deep breath, she too let out a big cloud of poisoned smoke, letting it rise into the crisp morning air, “But you know Koori…I like Ihei, she’s so nice…we got along really well! We’re even going to a movie on Friday night. Why do you have a problem with her? She too much sunshine?”

Ui didn’t look at her, he just let out a groan and shoved his cigarette between his lips and griped onto the dew-covered railing so hard that his knuckles were white. 

“She’s-“

“Too much for you?”

“Shut up Koharu!” 

“Do you- Shit- do you like Ihei?”

“NO! Absolutely not! She’s my partner I can’t be in love with her!”

“Says what? **Ethics**?” Koharu knew it…her brother’s face might not have shown signs of being flustered but his ears were bright red. Damn Koori. Well if he liked Hairu…Koharu would give her approval. 

“Koharu?! Koharu?! You’ve got to come and see this!” She could faintly hear Brooke’s voice ring from the office, “Where are you?”

“You better go tend to your needy squad.” Ui said, turning himself away from her, but that wouldn’t subside as Koharu wrapped her arms around her brother from behind, “K-Koharu-“

“You know…there’s nothing to be ashamed of liking someone. If you like Ihei, I want you to know you have my support, Koori-bro.”

Clicking his tongue, Ui turned himself around so that he could face his sister and returned the hug, that was a surprise! He never usually did this.

“You’re an idiot you know…Ihei- Hairu is-”

“Perfect for you Mr. bowl cut!” Koharu laughed, pulling away as she could hear the rest of her squad call out for her, “See you around, Koori-bro.”

“I hate those nicknames.”

“Yeah well I hate your attitude but I live with it…and I’m grateful you know.”

Did he know? Did Koharu ever make that clear enough that she was thankful for her brother’s nagging and criticism? Without it, she doubted that she would be as strong as she is now…she wouldn’t have the techniques or team building skills. Nor would she have the appreciation for others and their efforts.  
She was so naive back then to think that she could really claim all the credit for herself…she couldn’t.  
Everything depended on the efforts of those who she worked beside too, the big blue ribbon…that too was only a myth. 

_Thank you everyone.  
Thank you Koori._

 

Now that she was face to face with him again, she struggled with coming to terms with how much both of them had changed.

She was a ghoul,

And he was a servant to the monster. 

But Koori Ui…you aren’t the monster…are you?  
Koharu would knock sense into him if she had to, because he did for her time and time again.

_This time…I’ll save you Koori-bro. I have so many questions I want to ask…How’s Hairu?_


	33. Don't You Forget About Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone, we're in the final stretch for this fic as everyone's getting ready to meet their final foe.
> 
> Thanks for reading and enjoy this week's chapter!! <333

“If what _he_ says is right…then the king should be making his way down here.” Juuzou lead his squad along with some other investigators to the given location that Furuta had assigned them to. Although, there surprisingly weren’t that many ghouls blocking the entrance creating that much more of a concern on if they were indeed being lead in the right direction. To Mizurou…his mind was far from the battlefield, he listened to the orders given to him – nothing more then white noise - all he could think about was Mizuki and Michiko. _His family_.  
Michiko had been grouped with the rest of the Qs, safety in numbers as their power, but even he knew that her stamina wouldn’t be able to keep up for much longer, not from the way he left her.  
Then there was Mizuki…knowing that bastard he probably has her in alone in a drafty room – Mizurou still couldn’t understand why he was taking some of her blood?! Just thinking back to the phone call made his own blood boil.  
Everything about this messed up situation did!  
_The lies._  
The secrets.  
The deception.  
At this point, Mizurou was willing to give up his life in not fighting for humanity, but for what actually mattered most to him. Even if 2 lives weren’t significant to the large scale to things…those 2 lives were everything to him.

Deem him a traitor.  
But he made a promise once he sealed the ring over her finger and agreed to be a father. Those people, he would never go against.

Gripping his quinque a little tighter, Mizurou Tamaki stopped in place of the marching army and turned his body around, though only to be held back by his leader. 

“Mizurou…where are you?”

“Suzuya-san…I can’t complete this operation.” As a result of his claim, everyone around him looked down upon him as if he were suddenly less of a man. If only they could understand his daughter’s life depended on him to fight and to keep low…but if he had to fight to get her back…he’d fight anything that was in his way. Not stand around and wait. 

“Why not? You know what you’re saying don’t you? Investigator-”

“I might be an investigator…but Suzuya-san, I’m a father too. If I have to pick between my family and my job…I choose my family.”

He will never forget the look in Juuzou’s eyes – disappointment maybe – but also some kind of sympathy. 

_You were thinking about what Shinohara would choose…weren’t you?_

But as he made his way outside of the tunnel and back out to the surface without a hassle…it was clear that Juuzou was going to let him go. Mizurou would forever be grateful for that…but now came the art of trying to find Michiko and get back to headquarters. 

_One small step-_

“You were stupid to pull off something like that…Tamaki.” Stopping him in place was a voice of a friend that he never expected to hear coming from behind him. Turning to face Nakarai Keijin and Miyuki Mikage who stood there both with fearless forms and their quinques in hand as well. What was this about? “I don’t know what you’re up to but…I doubt you’d just walk out like that mumbling gibberish for nothing…”

“So we’ve come to assist you.” Miyuki said, lowering his head a little to his squad mate, “Though we would appreciate some…clarification on what exactly it is you’re doing?”

Mizurou still couldn’t tell them…even after they left Suzuya and Hanbee to await the arrival of the king of the ghouls to help him. He didn’t realize they had that much faith in him.  
It was enough to want to make him cry…but he had to be strong as the real battle was just about to begin. 

“I appreciate you wanting to come with me but…you may have a better chance at surviving if you stay with-“

“Don’t be idiot…Take a look around you Tamaki! Does it matter where we go? We’ll have an equal chance at being killed no matter what…but you, if you’re out on your own…” Keijin might have been harsh, but he was right. No matter where they would go, ghouls or other dangers were waiting for them. But still…even ghouls would be no challenge compared to what they would be facing – what he planned to face.  
“Let me ask you…what do you think of this whole situation…of the Bureau?”  
Neither of the other investigators replied, they just looked at him with the strain in their faces as they tried to not give themselves away of their true thoughts. Their answer was clear, “Then I think you’ll be able to understand what I’m doing…but first, help me find Michiko.”

\--

“This is bullshit,” Brooke, Carma, Shouhei, and a few other ghouls all made their way to the surface too, once where the city was familiar was now a living hell as they watched the battle between both human and ghouls take place on the streets. Nothing that they hadn’t seen before…but yet it scared them all.  
This is what it all came down to; the difference was so great that they could no longer see any commonality. That upset everyone in GOAT…because they knew full well that it was possible to for humans and ghouls to work together…it was the effort put in that makes it possible. “Look at this…”

“I know,” Shouhei sighed, glancing towards a group of Oggai fight against some younger ghouls who were struggling to hold their own, “Their all so caught up in their fights…they don’t even notice us.”

“They must all be under the influence of Furuta...” Carma sighed, glancing ahead to witness more of the fights, not knowing where to go or what to say. “Child soldiers…I still don’t understand why he would resort to that.”

“I know,” Hakatori said, stepping forward from the small group behind them, “Children are small and easy to over look…not to mention they can get into tight spaces…Aogiri did it from time to time.”

“And you would know that how?” Asked Brooke, though the ghoul could only turn her head to the side as some of her dark hair fell over her face, 

“Because…I used to be one. It was for survival…I had to fight to live…unlike some of you humans.”

“Don’t go making assumptions,” Carma said, stepping between the two other young woman, “by this point in the game…I think we all know better then to judge a book by it’s cover. Not all humans are fortunate to have peaceful lives…neither are ghouls. We all fight to survive one way or another…what matters is that we’re all still here, right? Fighting for one purpose.”

Hakatori then pulled back her hair again and glanced at Brooke wistfully, though nodding her head a little as a way to try and show she understood. 

“Well, since Koharu’s not here…I say that I take charge!” the brunette finally said, rolling up her sleeves and allowing her kakugan to emerge, “let’s give these kiddies a time out! Then try and regroup with the others if they manage to get up here…we’ll need the extra hand.”

 

\--

 

Koharu could not deny that it hurt when Ui managed to cut her with his quinque, but what really afflicted her was how he did it with a straight face.  
With blood oozing out as she attempted to swing at him in return, it was taking every muscle in her body to keep from wanting to paralyze him. Though if it came down to it…she might have to if it’ll make him listen. 

“Koori!” She gasped in her spare moment, just missing another twinge from his quinque that trusted so fast, it was nothing less them impressive, “Just stop and listen to what I have to say for once!”

“I have listened to you Koharu!” He then took a step back as well to catch his breath and wipe his brow. The way he stood, he assured his opponent that he would always be ready to attack or to block. Typical. “But instead you defied me, defied us all! Playing dead so you could join up with the enemy…”

“Playing dead?! What do you mean playing dead?! Why the hell would I- who said that?” _who filled your head with nonsense_? Though Koharu had to admit, it didn’t help her position that she was already seen down here and rushing the queen of the ghouls to a safe route. Nor that she was fighting along side her fellow ‘ _traitors_ ’. “I thought you’d have more trust in me…”

“If you really came back from the dead, you would have come back to the CCG – to me!

“SHUT UP!” luckily for her she had her guard up too as Ui tried to close in on her again, though her large winged-kagune was able to block her on time. Resisting his strength was harder then the first few times, he was certainly not as weak as some would assume. No, Koori Ui fit his role as a topnotch investigator all right, cold and narcissistic to thinking they’re the only one’s who fight to live. Then again she was the same way at one time too.  
Touka,  
Kaneki,  
Karren,  
Tsukiyama,  
Nishiki,  
Mr. Yomo,  
Masaya and Ryoichi.  
She owed them; they helped her overcome her new transformation and opened her eyes to the reality that their world was in.  
Koharu gritted her teeth as she tried to resist his thrust, he must have been putting his full strength onto his quinque to try and push through her shell. 

_What will it take for me to stop you, brother?_

Eventually, she was able to force him back, not enough for him to tumble but enough to make him catch his breath. His features were so twisted and riled, Koharu could hardly believe that he was actually her kin. 

 

“You betrayed us!” Yusa snapped towards Hajime, he was ready to strike him right then and there, no matter what Hirako or Marie might oppose, “I knew we should never have trusted you!”

_You lied to us, to Marie! She put her faith in you._

But Hajime didn’t look as if he was going to take those words kindly, and yet he avoided Yusa, trying to make a break for one of the clear tunnels, though this time Mayuzumi and Erica both blocked his path. They looked like little toy soldiers – No – That’s what they were.

“Where are you going Hajime? The party’s just getting started!” 

“Let me out,” Hajime snarled, his Rinkaku starting to expand out like bursting petals, 

“Just-“

“Did you hear that Erica? He wants out. He wants to abort the mission.” The 2 other Oggai didn’t look impressed to what they had just figured out…but it was just as blurry to Yusa as it was to them. Why was he so desperate to escape? But then, coming from behind, Marie stepped next to Hajime, her 9-tails extended and her kakugan focused on the two children blocking the exit. 

“Marie-“

“Don’t worry Yusa,” She said, extending her arm to he couldn’t pass her, “I’ll break through them if I have to, Brooke’s group is needing us up there so the sooner I-“

“Brooke?” The female Oggai asked, taking her mask off and reviling one crystal blue eye and stared critically at the blonde, “Hey…wait a minute…I know you! You’re one of her friends aren’t you?! Yeah, you came to my house that one time!”

“What are you going on about, Erica?” Mayuzumi asked, frowning as he glanced back and fourth, “Who - what?“

The young Arima stood oddly by, watching as Marie contemplated the situation. She was pretty easy to read as he carefully minded her features and body language. But knowing her, her memory wouldn’t pass her by if she did know this girl.  
Finally, she spoke up,

“Erica…Erica Akita! That’s right you’re Brooke’s little sister aren’t you? Wait- but she-“

“it’s a long story,” the younger Akita sighed, tossing her mask on the ground and walking over to zero squad, “You’re still working with Brooke? Right? I need to find her!”

“I-“

“Please! I’ve been looking all over the place for her! You see our family- The CCG-“ Yusa knew that Marie had more common sense then what she often gave off, but as soon as this oggai started bringing on the water works it obvious that her opinions were going to be swayed. 

Oh great, another possible traitor. 

However, this other Oggai that was still standing by the entrance didn’t seem to have the same intensions as he tried to strike Marie! NO!

Yusa’s feet moved before his brain could process what he was doing, but instead of being the one to protect Marie, Erica released her Rinkaku again and blocked the attack whilst Hajime protected Yusa. 

 

But then, a quick, instant screech rang in that break in the tunnel, catching both of the Ui’s attention as they glanced over at where a blob of kagune’s spread and where two bodies laid impaled.  
No.  
Auralee and Kennedy.  
They weren’t ready to fight, they’ve been isolated their whole life and now…they had no life to live. Koharu told them to run…she really did. But taking her eyes off of her own opponent was dangerous enough as her brother even scolded her right then and there as he tried to attack her again.

“I take it as insult that you actually took your eyes off your-“

“Shut up!” she chocked out, trying to keep her emotions at bay because if she cried, she’d be no better then those kids. 

How much longer could Koharu fight him? He was strong…stronger then her. She’d always known that…after all he was able to fight the One-eyed Owl by himself once. It was her only option at this point, if she couldn’t fight hand to hand, she’d play a different rule. Taking out one of her stems, she quickly targeted it to one of her brother’s legs and released some of the serum. His scream was no better then when she attacked Naki that one time when she was in the cell, but if she only let out just enough to bring him to his knees and temporarily paralyze him it would be enough. 

_Just a little, only a little…_

It didn’t work instantly, so even once she pulled it out she had to keep her guard up until he finally fell to the ground in one thump and rattle of his quinque. 

“Fuck…What did you do to me?!” He wheezed, “I can’t feel my legs!”

Picking up his weapon so he couldn’t reach it, she stared down at Ui as his hair fell over his face. She could only imagine what he was thinking right then…but she wasn’t going to kill him…she was going to force him to listen to her, it’s not like he could go anywhere for now.  
But glancing back at the scene around her, Hirako, Shio, and Rikai seemed to have some of the other few investigators under control… but Marie and Yusa were still struggling to keep up with one of the Oggai…Wait was that girl with-  
Shaking her head, Koharu couldn’t even keep track on who was on their side anymore…but she knew that one Oggai was going to be a pickle if she didn’t do something. So, making a fast approach, she used her brother’s quinque to interfere by striking between the blonde and the child. She couldn’t see his face through his mask, but did a face matter? 

Once Mayuzumi was focused on Koharu as his next target, she lead him away from Marie, the other girl, and Yusa, urging them to get down the tunnel and meet with the others. Shio and Rikai followed suit, as Hirako trusted the final investigator to a wall, rushing over to attend to Ui.  
But this kid certainly was no easy obstacle, but he too was no less vulnerable then anyone else and therefor was easily struck by Koharu’s serum.  
But after everything already, she didn’t have the heart to bring him down completely. 

Koharu and Hirako stayed next to the both of them as they slowly started to regain feeling in their muscles. But the time did not go to waist, Koharu informed her brother on everything that had happened to her since she’d woken in the cell that day. She told him of the things she’d seen, the things she’d done and learnt. That she never once imagined to leave him and the many attempts she’d made to try and meet with him again, though struggled through her new twist of DNA. 

“I’m surprised you’re…not mad about me being a full ghoul now…I thought you’d hate me.” Koharu sighed, helping Ui sit up a little as he was starting to regain feeling in his legs. Though he shook his head, leaning up, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. 

“Koharu…I’ll admit that I would’ve cared about that a few months ago, but not anymore…My world has changed just as much as yours…but you’re right, the CCG is nothing like we thought it was; it’s corrupted – even before Furuta- Hairu she’s-“ He paused for a moment, and she heard as he sucked in his breath…like he was trying not to cry “I was only upset because…I thought you left me.”

“That would never- I would never even-! You stupid brother, you’re the only true family I’ve got! Why would I go against the one that – the one that I love! Koori-bro…I’m sorry that this was the only way I could tell you…”  
She hated how she had to tell him the truth; she had to hurt him to make him understand, to get him to listen to her. 

“Never mind Koharu…But you should know, I’m not the only family you’ve got now. I asked Hairu to marry me and…. you’ve also got a nephew.”

That’s when Koharu finally decided to give into her emotion. After all this time her brother finally worked up the nerve to ask the girl to marry him. So not only was Hairu Koharu’s best friend, she was going to be her sister too! But on top of that, she had a nephew!  
All the more reason to work for a better world. 

But they promised from here on out, they wouldn’t fight on the sake of justice anymore…they’d fight to give hope to those around them, to reassure that everyone had a chance. If they were human, ghoul, or little bit of both. 

But as for Mayuzumi, he was not so easily convinced and acted more like a cranky toddler as Hirako carelessly tossed his still healing body over his shoulder to carry him out. 

“NO I HAVE A JOB TO DO YOU CAN’T TAKE ME ALIVE I WILL REPORT YOU, NO YOU’RE ALREADY A-!”

“Quiet please, you’re annoying.” 

As for Ui, who was now able to stand again, Koharu handed him back his quinque with a smirk and dampened cheeks,

“Use that with care. The goal is now…how many can we save? Because don’t forget…I have a nephew I want to meet.”

\--

“Urie…Will we really have to fight him if we…come across-“ Higemaru asked as he and the rest of his squad finished off another small group of ghouls. But to be frank, Urie didn’t want to fight him anymore then the rest of them did. After everything they’ve been through and the many hills they climbed…Urie would see it as more of a relief to see Haise again. That’s what he told Michiko.  
But for her, she was willing to fight anyone who got in her way that day, anyone who blocked her from retrieving her ill child who was still in the hands of the Bureau…who knows she may not be right now. 

_I’m such a failure as a mother; I should’ve just resigned from the CCG._ But even she knew that by doing that, she would be seen as a traitor as well. But…were Marie, Brooke, and Carma really traitors? Or were they just trying to save themselves? By this point, Michiko could understand why they would do that. However, they didn’t have anything holding them back, they didn’t have another life – no – other lives that were counting on them in the same way.  
But of they were brave enough to pull themselves out of the fight just as easily…then maybe she too should find that courage and get herself out of this mess. She couldn’t depend on anyone else right now – her pride would never ask – so perhaps she had to break the glass and escape. They could hate her all they wanted, her own mother disowned her already so why would a few odd faces matter?  
Walking back from the Qs, Michiko held onto her quinque, ‘Nike’, and braced herself to run, hoping that maybe they wouldn’t spot her. But of course, getting away would never be possible,

“Hey- Michiko, where are you going? HEY!” Urie screamed after her and yet he did not follow- was he letting her go so easily? “Damn it!”

“What’s she doing?” Saiko asked, “Why’s she going back?”

“I’m not sure,” their squad leader grunted, now turning to Higemaru and the rest of his group, “We better go after her…she’s one of us after all.”  
“Knowing her, something fishy must be going on..” Yoko said

 

Michiko wasn’t sure how far she got, she knew that some of them were following her but by saying even a word about what her intensions were, Furuta would have her daughter’s life. There was no doubt that she was the fool for going back to attempt going up against him herself, but she couldn’t do anymore, she couldn’t fight aimlessly. 

Passing through some of the rubble, Michiko slashed through it easily with her bikaku and katana-like quinque, though heaving as she did so. Exhausted was an understatement of how she was feeling, but it was easy to ignore when she had a goal in mind. But that didn’t mean her path was clear.

Just as she made it around a corner, about 2 blocks from where the CCG headquarters was located, until three-sharp spears came darting towards her from her left! She didn’t even sense another presence near by! But with her fatigue it was clear that even her heightened senses were no longer working in her favor and this threat was quick to have her falsely accuse it’s location. By swinging her bikaku, she accidently hit the wall of a building and sent pieces of stone falling to the street with a couple catching her leg and forcing her to the ground.

“GAH!” she tried to pull herself out but couldn’t budge, her leg was stuck between the two…having little strength made her no better then a normal human. Then trying to resort to Nike, she spotted it across the way and certainly too far for her to reach; shit! 

Then, the figure that attacked her finally came out from the mist of the disaster, a girl who looked to be younger then herself, was carrying a quinque case of her own…but she was wielding a bikaku as well! It was a ghoul…but how was she wielding a quinque?  
The girl approached her and looked down upon Michiko like a piece of trash, no sympathy to be seen. Though, she eyed her Bikaku like a piece of candy…

“You sure have a pretty bikaku…I might even say it glows.” She said, “But you’re not going to fight me like that…are you? Which is too bad really.”

“Then help me out!” Michiko screeched, wheezing as she tried to wiggle her legs to loosen it, “Look, I don’t have time for this…”

“Neither do I.” then, just as she was bout to strike, someone came from behind Michiko and attacked the ghoul! Higemaru?!

“Hey- you’re not doing yourself any favors by picking on ones that aren’t looking for a fight!” he shouted, shoving and locking the ghoul against the group with his kagune. Then, Michiko could feel the pressure finally being lifted off her ligament as Shoko and Urie shoved the rocks off of her. So they all came through after all…

“What happened? You were running a second ago!” Saiko said, Hsiao and her giving a shoulder to stand again, “How’s the leg?”

“I don’t think it’s broken,” She responded, as she was fully capable of standing on her own again, “Thanks.”

“Of course, you’re our friend after all! Urie said so!” the other quinx exclaimed; handing her the quinque she dropped.

She had a hard time believing that he said that word for word, but she was thankful for them coming after her…still she couldn’t stay, she had to-

“Oh my god, Michiko?!” everyone seemed to be popping through the rubble, but to think that her husband would show up from across the street just baffled her. Were the stars in her favor today? 

“Mizurou!” She called, though running was a bit of a challenge, she wasted no time to meet him halfway before her arms were wrapped around him,

“Michi are you okay?”

“I’m- I’m fine…What are you doing here?!” you’re assigned to be taking down the king! But he nuzzled his head down to her shoulder,

“I think…the same reason you’re here,” He whispered in her ear, “You want to save Mizuki too…”

Seeing that he managed to bring along Keijin and Mikage was enough proof for her that his motives were about as insane as hers. They tried to do it on their own…but only managed to drag everyone else into this mess with them...they trusted the pair that much…. 

Loyalty was a weird thing…you either had it, or you didn’t. Michiko and Mizurou were both grateful that they could say they did. 

But even if things couldn’t get any more bizarre as far as for people showing up, it seemed like Michiko was being faced with al kinds of déjà vu once she heard another voice ringing against the walls of the city. 

“HEY TOMOE YOU IDIOT I TOLD YOU TO FIGHT THE OGGAI NOT THE LINGERING CITIZENS!” only one person could yell so carelessly like that…Brooke.

 

She had one job and she decided to treat this like a game. Brooke liked Hakatori for having a will of her own, just not when she was in charge!  
Brooke and her group managed to round up many of the oggai, though with a little force and heavy elbow grease were they able to persuade them to join along them! For the one’s who still had faith in Furuta, it was in the better interest to let them go and learn the hard way.  
In the moment, Brooke felt a little superior as the Oggai started to see her as the superstar of this operation. It was like having a bunch of little minions follow her around and listen to her every word without hesitation. 

“People are still trying to evacuate, you can’t use them as target practice-“ But what stopped the confident girl in her steps was seeing a very familiar man that way keeping a tight hold on Hakatori. “Touma?!”

Was she surprised to see him? Yes. Did she expect to see a few old faces? Yes. Did she ignore the fact that she may run into him? Yes.

“Brooke?!” Higemaru must have been just as surprised because Hakatori was finally able to slip through his hold and bounce back over to the brunette and her oggai army behind her, “What are you- the oggai?”

“Look can we talk about this later?” Brooke asked, shoving her glasses up her face and turning away so he couldn’t see her face and instead turned to an equally surprised Michiko, “Well…now that’s a face I haven’t seen in a while.”

 

“Nice to see you too, Brooke.” The light brunette replied, keeping close to Mizurou as the rest of the Qs gathered around them. So, they really were seen as the traitors. Finally, one of the oggai, Yuuko, stepped forward to defend the group and state the wrongs of Furuta and how they were all lied to, used, and left to basically fend for themselves. That in itself seemed to be enough to convince most of the Qs as they all shared the similar belief of the wrongs done on everyone under the bastard. Letting their guard down, they stepped away from the group and pondered for a moment on what should be their next step. Brooke was hoping to catch up with Koharu or Touka by this point, but it seemed that Mizurou had something in mind for what would be the best next course for attack, 

“I say…if we ever plan to make a move for ourselves, then we’ve got to force him to step down. Head to the CCG and make our point. With numbers like this…I think that we may have a chance.”

\--

Koharu, Ui, Hirako, and Mayuzumi managed to catch up with Marie and the rest of the zero squad…there they also found Touka and her group whom kept safe in part of a divided section of the tunnels. 

Good job everyone. 

Though seeing Ryoichi alive and well was a huge weight off of her chest and was quick to kiss her boyfriend…though forgetting that her brother happened to be behind her. Shit, she forgot to tell him about her and Ryoichi being together. 

“Oi, get your revolting hands off of my sister you filthy animal!” Ui, still recovering, looked as if he was going to attack Ryoichi right them and there if not for Hirako leaping into action. Ryoichi himself looked like he wanted to cry. 

“Whoa relax big brother, he’s with me! He’s my boyfriend, this is Ryoichi Takeo.” Koharu tried to plead, though his gaze was far too busy shooting her boyfriend dirty glares.

“Boyfriend. Boyfriend?! That- jittery, cowering twig?”

“Big…brother?“ She heard Ryo squeak, only to have Karren hold him in a loose embrace,

“Einfach, I won’t let the big scary bowl cut hurt you.”

“Let. Go.”

But it wasn’t only them who had a sense of tension emerging down there, but the zero squad seemed hesitant to allow the oggai children to join them. Hajime and Erica were willing to fight on behalf of the other children – well Hajime certainly was. But Mayuzumi, who finally was able to feel his legs again, wasn’t as thrilled. 

“Someone’s got to watch Erica’s back I suppose.”

“I don’t need any one watching my back, especially not yours!” She stuck out her tongue. 

But with little of what to expect when they finally got to the surface, they all had to brace themselves for the unforgiving conditions of both ghouls and humans. Hopefully the others have lasted up there…because they were going to need all the help they could get…if they were going to head to the source of this mess. 

 

Making it out, the city looked more like a ghost town then they initially expected. There was nothing but faint sounds of shouts from the distance. 

“They…evacuated the city.” Ui said, “That’s…a relief.” At least Hairu and the baby were safe, that’s what Koharu assumed he was thinking. But it was, no bystanders should have to be put through this. It was a little too peaceful. 

“I thought…there would be more oggai out here or ghouls…something!” Shio said, a little louder then he should’ve, as Touka was able to pick up something coming towards them.

As planned, they get ready in their battle stances by putting Karren and Touka in the center as everyone else surrounded them. But once they saw the figures approaching them, it was almost instantly that everyone was able to have a moment of relief.  
King Kaneki and the others had come back and never had any of them been more thankful.

“Oh thank god your safe Touka,” the king shouted as he soon stood next to his queen’s side, “I just…I had a feeling you might’ve been-“

“I was worried for you as well my rose.” Tsukiyama exclaimed, nearly swooping Karren off of her feet, “the rose-bud is safe as well?”

“Ja, everyone’s accounted for.” 

But Karren was wrong about that, not everyone was accounted for. The two lives that were lost in the tunnels was something that Masaya himself had already figured out as he scanned the group.  
“I’m sorry.” Koharu new that he was hurt by the pained look on his face, the kids he’d strived so hard to protect, even after the twins he lost over a year ago, he must’ve felt like a rock. Though no man was truly a man if he could not show the efforts to cry, and he did as he lowered his hat to hide his face, 

“We can’t let their lives go in vain.”

“We won’t,” Koharu assured, placing a hand on his muscular arm, “I promise.” Then, turning back to the rest of the group, everyone’s eyes had fallen upon her, looking at her with hope and urgency. Even the King and Queen. What? 

Looking at Kaneki helplessly, he gave a nod of his head to usher her foreword,

“So, what’s the next move Koharu Ui?”

Wouldn’t Kaneki be the better person to turn to right now? Koharu had been under pressure before when asked to do something…this kind felt like the moment when she was about to enter her first jumping tournament. But…they were literally placing all their trust…in her! Never mind trust – their lives.

_Why me? What did I do?_

Then, coming up next to her, Ryo reached down and carefully slipped his hand into hers, squeezing it just a little to give her some reassurance. Subtle and yet…it seemed to help. On her other side, Ui stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder and…smiled. 

_So was that what Hairu meant by earning a smile? She was right…getting a smile from someone you care about really does mean the world._

“Koharu…Just look at how far you’ve brought them, even I can see that they - they believe in you…so believe in yourself.”

She would never demand their obedience, but she had an idea of what they could do if only they could catch up or at least find the others. Kaneki wanted GOAT to keep its purpose and so did Koharu because it was justice for everyone…not the individual or selected group.  
So raising her hand, the younger Ui proposed her plan, hoping that they would all see it in the same light,

“Alright, hold your heads high everyone…because looking down will only show your hesitation.”


	34. Rush Hour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's good to be back after taking a little break! >u<
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy this week's chapter!

Even though most of the CCG’s interior was vacant at the moment, Kimi still felt the heavy presence of the most contemptible personage in the city. 

Working in the lab late in the night was nothing new for her, but working with the distraction of the crying infant near by threw her off guard more so then she would’ve liked.  
In an incubator next to her workplace, Mizuki – _was her name_ – wailed weakly inside; tears no longer streaming down her face as they had been when she first arrived a few hours ago. She’d already been ill multiple times from being distressed and, from what Kimi could tell, already came in with a fever.  
_What was Furuta’s aim for bringing a sickly infant into the lab? What was his reasoning for anything he’d been doing?_  
While most medications were deadly to babies so young, Kimi had been able to steady the fever every so often through safe remedies, though as soon as the child broke out into cries and mewls, it would only rise again.  
From what she was told by Kanou, this child belonged to one of the Quinx’s as well as another one of the human investigators; Kimi’s job was to test it’s blood to see if it had managed to inherit any Quinx-like cells.

But as she gazed into the microscope at a sample of her blood, it appeared to be no different from any other human’s, 23 pairs of chromosomes, and low RC cell count.

_She’s just a human._

Kimi’s body jerked as soon as the lab’s door opened with Kanou walking inside, calm and unnerved as usual. 

“I checked the blood samples,” She said, stepping over to lift the baby into her arms, desperately trying to get it to settle again, though without success.  
_I know I’m not your mother…but I’m trying to help you_ , “It’s – she’s just a human.”

“But of course she is,” Kanou replied, walking over to the large, metal and glass box that was placed in the back of the room, the one that held a woman’s body inside. That was a ghoul that Furuta would sometimes come to visit…the one that Kanou removed the womb from and placed into a separate container where an embryo was developing. “The mother might be a Quinx, but her DNA is still relevant to that of her birth-species. We can only rearrange nature so far when it comes to ghoul implantation, so naturally her offspring wouldn’t carry over that manipulation.”

“So…you had me extract blood and test it…when you already knew the results?” The more Kimi thought on this…the more it made sense. Being bogus, how could a genealogy pass over when it hasn’t been engraved into the parent for an extended amount of time?  
Wrapping Mizuki in a blanket to keep her warm, Kimi Nishino came to the conclusion that this whole set up was a trap, a foul play by the Bureau. What sickened her stomach is that she was apart of it all too, she was holding someone’s child captive.

And Kanou confirmed it.

“If he want’s to keep playing the game, he needs pawns to act as his shields. Though, kind of ironic considering he’s actually the fool…don’t you agree?”

\--

 

Just a few months ago, Koharu Ui would’ve done just about anything to return to the CCG and have things go back to the way they were before. But of course, it was too late for that now and she could only look back at those times as brief memories of the past.  
Now standing just a few blocks away from headquarters with her friends and family behind her - ghouls and humans alike - it was now starting to finally sink in how much everyone had given up to regain a sense of peace; of hope.  
However, it wasn’t long before they managed to meet up with Brooke and the others again…though this time with some new faces. 

“Brooke?! Is that really you?” Erica raced out of the group, pointing out her older sister instantly and tossing her arms around her. However, it took the brunette a moment to process who was trying to embrace her, all this time she thought her entire family had been killed…all but one. It was rare to see Brooke cry, so when she did, everyone noticed.

“Thank god you’re okay shrimp… even if you’re an oggai, you’re still my little sis…well I guess you’re not that shrimpy anymore.”  
Watching the Akita sister’s unite was touching to Koharu because she understood perfectly how that felt when she was back with Ui. Though her experience was a little more vehement.

“So you’re Koharu Ui, huh?” a voice from behind the raven-haired woman spoke up and when she turned to see a blonde investigator with blue-dyed tips, she was taken back for a moment.

“I’m sorry but do I know you?”

“Oh- no I guess not. I’m Shoko Souzu and that over there is my sister, Yoko,” she pointed to a short brunette who bowed her head towards her. These were the Souzu’s? Maybe they were distant - very distant – relatives to Rikai. Marie and Brooke mentioned these two briefly before, “We were admitted into the Beta Qs squad a little while back…we’ve heard so much about you so it’s kind of an honor to finally meet you.”

“Ah I see, well…it’s a honor to meet you two as well.”

 

Both the Qs squad and some members of the Suzuya Squad were there as well, even some of the Oggai… whom all looked surprised to see both Hajime and Mayuzumi again. 

“Don’t worry, they’re on right side now!” Erica said to the other kids, “isn’t that right?”

Hajime just folded his arms over his chest and turned his head away from her and Mayuzumi grunted. Personally, Koharu had faith that Hajime was starting to see the truth about power and what it can do and besides…he saved Yusa.  
But this reunion was no small miracle, because Koharu was finally able to speak with Michiko again.

The last member from her squad.

Out of everyone she used to work with, Michiko was the most like-minded to her leader, but also used to be very narcissistic– no wait - Koharu was the egotistical one. She was wrong to ever think that Michiko stepped down from the Rose operation out of selfish reasons…she was just trying to save a life. But now, as Koharu gazed over the light brunette, it was clear that fighting spirit was working over time as she was covered in dirt and gashes; her knees were even shaking under her as she gripped onto Mizurou for some support.

“Michiko…” Koharu walked towards her friend, she could only imagine what rumors she must’ve heard about her, “It’s…been a while.”

“Yes…it has been. I’m glad to see you again.” Her response was brief as her green eyes narrowed towards her, but Koharu didn’t expect anything less.  
Clearing her throat to break the silence, Koharu stepped forward so that she was facing everyone who was with them.  
Shouhei and Carma informed her that their group was also getting ready to head into the building to try and take down Furuta head on, but that clown was not a stupid man, he was probably already waiting for them inside. 

“We can’t just run in and jump the gun.” Koharu noted,

“Huh…why not?!” Demanded Brooke as she pushed her glassed up her face,

“No, Koharu’s right.” Kaneki added, stepping next to the younger Ui’s side, “while we might have numbers on our side, he still isn’t defenseless either. Furuta likes to have fun…my best guess is that he already has chess pieces protecting him from the inside out ready to pick us off one by one. So if we go in on one shot…not many of us will make it through round 1.”

“Sasaki- Kaneki is right,” Ui agreed, “I don’t know who or what he could be using, but I suspect that he already figured out that we know about him and his doings…what he’s forced us into. Changing our lives forever…” 

“Killing my – our families!” Brooke shouted, thrusting a fist into a wall,

“Making us his personal puppets that he can manipulate.” Ui grunted,

“Making me believe there’s no way out.” Hajime sighed, turning towards Erica who gave him a small smile to which he tried to return,

“Taking something precious,” Mizurou seethed, “and then blackmailing us.”

Everyone had their grudges, their reasons for participation in this rebellion, but this wasn’t a rebellion; this was going to be a revolution for both humans and ghouls alike. 

 

\--

Koharu had managed to split up everyone into 5 groups that would take on different sections of the building, though it would be expected that they could break down further depending on whom they ran into.  
It was a risky plan, Ui had to admit that, but who she put into those groups confused him to no end.  
Brooke, Hakatori, Higemaru, Hajime, Mayuzumi, Erica, and the Oggai were to take defense of the outside area of the building to prevent anyone else from coming in or out. They would also be protecting Ryo, Karren, and Touka as they would be seeking for a safe place to hide out for the time being.  
Hirako, Ui, Tsukiyama, Akira, and Amon were to warn the investigators and employees inside to evacuate and warn them on Furuta’s doings,  
Zero Squad, Marie, Michiko, Mizurou, Nakarai, and the Souzu sisters were to go up through the front entrance of the building,  
Yomo, Masaya, Carma, Hinami, Miyuki, and the rest were to enter through the west end,  
Then finally, Koharu, Kaneki, Shouhei, and the rest of the quinx were to head right into the Bureau’s office…

“I don’t get it Koharu,” Brooke squabbled, walking over to her leader and narrowing her eyes, “you always said we should work together as a team…why are you making us scatter around like chickens?”

But Ui’s little sister simply smiled, 

“Because we’re still working together. Maybe we’re not all side-by-side, but I think we’ve all grown and worked together long enough to understand each other’s strengths and techniques. We have trust. So even if we work apart, we’re really all still working together, just in a different way.”

What none sense…then again, here they all were working beside ghouls like they were human. She’d convinced him- No…Ui wasn’t convinced…he was just finally starting to see the truth behind the masks.  
Grabbing Taruhi, Ui approached his designated group, passing his sister as he did so with a nod.

_Remember the rule Koharu, no dying. Don’t break it again._

\--

 

Everyone was quick to move to their designated locations, each making sure that every member was accounted for before they would make their first move. But as for Ryoichi Takeo, he refused to be the one to stay behind. He was always the one who had to sit out, or was too fainthearted to be useful when confronted with danger. Times were changing, Ryo was passive when it came to others and obeying orders…but since he was with Koharu now, he was starting to realize that he had to step up his game. Being afraid was natural…but he still had to fight with everyone else and not hide behind Masaya, or Yomo, or any other individual who could easily handle the impact. Ryoichi wanted to be needed, to be useful, to help his friends and family!  
So, finding the strength in himself, Ryoichi tagged along behind Koharu’s group in secret…even if he died in battle, he wanted to die knowing that he was able to die trying to protect the one he loves.

\--

Mizurou and his group were quick to make it past some lingering investigators in their path, some let them through, but some didn’t go down without a fight. In the back of his mind, he hated himself for doing this to coworkers…but he would worry about that fact later because right now, Mizuki was depending on him and Michiko to save her. He was just praying with every bone in his body that it wasn’t too late.

“We should find the lab,” Mizuoru said, “we need to save Mizuki-“ It slipped past his lips by mistake, he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone that Furuta had taken her! Shit!  
But they were so close…so close. Perhaps by this point he was better off telling them…keeping secrets weren’t getting them closer to their goal anyways. 

“Mizuki…?” Nakarai stepped foreword and looked at his friend skeptical glare , “Why does she…?”

“Who’s Mizuki?” Marie asked, looking at Nakarai helplessly who explained that she was their daughter. To be honest, Mizurou almost forgot that Marie and the majority of Michiko’s former squad hadn’t had the chance of meeting her yet. For her sake, he hoped they’d get the chance. 

After Michiko and him explained about what had happened at the hospital and when they were called out to battle. 

“Well…at least it makes sense as to why you left Suzuya back there.” The blonde man shrugged, gripping onto ‘left and right’ a little tighter, “I knew your actions weren’t purposeful...”

“I’m…I’m so sorry Michiko!” Marie said, averting her gaze from her friend and staring at the floor only to have Nakarai scold her,

“Why are you sorry Kitami? You didn’t do anything wrong so don’t apologize…you come off as weak when you do that.”

“Right.”

Then, glancing over at the young Arima, Mizurou saw the boy scowl,

“She’s just being nice…you don’t need to get mad at her…”

Yusa was right in that Nakarai’s comment wasn’t necessary as she was only being considerate of Michiko’s feelings, and it was clear that this bothered the blonde man too as he clicked his tongue.  
Nakarai wasn’t used to being the one who was corrected for a mistake.  
But if Marie had survived that long with the ghouls underground…she certainly wasn’t weak. At least that was Mizurou’s opinion.

 

The group had to gain ground by using the staircase as the elevators could’ve easily been foiled with. But it made Mizurou worried for Michiko’s stamina…she was already tried going in, he couldn’t imagine how she was feeling now. 

“Michi…If you need to stop for a break just let me know and we can-“

“I’m fine!” she retorted, now running up the stairs, “I can rest once I have _her_ back.”  
_Michiko…please don’t push yourself too hard._

It seemed like every floor they made it up, there was always someone waiting for them.With Michiko too weary to even use her Bikaku, Mizurou made sure that he was able to protect her the best he could. Every slice he made with his quinque sliced his own soul in return. Is this what Furuta wanted? How was any of this supposed to create peace if not even humans could make it through without harming their own kind? If he ever got face-to-face with the bastard, he’d make sure he had a slow and painful death. 

 

“The lab is on the second highest floor of headquarters…right?” Marie asked, heaving a little as she allowed her Rinkaku to retreat back inside her after taking down two of the guards. But she didn’t kill them. Michiko used to think of Marie as being one of the most useless members on her squad as she always seemed to be in her own little world. If she had such a good memory…she sure didn’t put it to use in past missions.  
Michiko will never know what happened after all of these months after hiding with the ghouls, but whatever did happen; Marie seemed to finally have a better common sense, more of a brain…no she always had one. She was also one of the few individuals who had a sense of peace when it came to the glass being half full. Michiko wished she could see the world in the same light.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Nakarai said, coming up behind Marie and glancing up at the array of stairs that they still had to climb, “Kiyoko- Special Class Aura took me in there once. It’s nothing but a big room filled with machinery…”

“I wonder what they do in there..” Shio pondered,

“I have a pretty good assumption…That’s where they probably have been creating the oggai.” Rikai sighed, glancing over at Shoko and Yoko who both gave a nod. Yusa, however, just lowered his head and turned his body away. Michiko wanted to throw up. Those poor children.  
Were they going to turn Mizuki into an oggai? Or was she really just being held so that she and Mizurou would fight? Whatever it was, it was going to end!

“L-Let’s keep moving,” The light brunette unstructed, forcing her aching legs to continue up the stair case, “We…We can’t let that happen to her too.”

\--

Down in the streets below, Brooke and her team were working hard to fight off the remaining oggai that were still on Furuta’s side of the war. In the frontlines, Brooke, Hajime, and Higemaru took charge while Erica, Mayuzumi, and Hakatori worked just on the outskirts of headquarters.  
“Come on you guys, wake up and smell the roses!” Erica screamed, pinning down one of the girls against the side of a building with her Rinkaku whilst shoving another kid to the side, “can’t you see what he’s doing? He’s a monster! He killed my family!”

“Erica’s right,” Mayuzumi added, though his course of action was more forceful and violent compared to his partner’s, “He’s tricked us all into fighting for him! He’s just using us!”

“Har-har. That’s funny coming from you,” Sputtered one of the other boys, punching Mayuzumi so hard in the stomach he nearly puked. These kids were nearly as strong if not more then himself…how were they supposed to rein them in? If were up to him…he would try to beat it in to their heads…but since he already knew that Erica would be against that idea…he had to try and play reason.

“It’s like herding cats,” He heard Hakatori mumble as she managed to grab two of the children by the cuff of their shirts, “a bunch of 10 year old cats…It’s almost pointless.”

“No, it’s not pointless!” the young Akita shouted just as another Oggai was trying to impale her, but luckily for her, Mayuzumi managed to get to the kid before it got to her. _See, you do need someone to watch your back._

But even as the trio continued to try and round up the children, another figure came to their aid. 

“Hey, Hakatori, what did I say about playing with your food…Wait, they don’t smell like humans. Are these the brats that attacked us before?” Takizawa managed to jump off a smaller building and landed right in the middle of the large group, all of the Oggai stared at him in awe. Hakatori, however, just rolled her eyes. 

“They’re not food Takizawa…they're pests. Now, can you be useful and help us?”

 

In the front, Brooke, Hajime, and Higemaru seemed to have more luck in getting the rest of the oggai to cooperate with them right away, though it was Hajime who really did all the convincing per say. But since he was their former leader, it made sense for them to believe and respect him to certain level. Brooke had to hand it to him; he was a pretty awesome kid, badass even…

“Wow, I had no idea, I really thought that if I fought…I’d be able to avenge my parents,” One of the girls said, taking off her mask and tossing it to the ground and stomping on it, “I can’t believe he lied to us!”

“People lie all the time! We were just unlucky to be lied to by him!” Hajime snarled, “our parents…non of them would want this for us. Killing won’t bring them back. But just because we were the joke, doesn’t mean we can’t turn things around. Let’s let him have a taste of his own medicine and take him down!” 

“YEAH!”

“No. None of you are going to be fighting anymore,” As eager as they were, and as proud as she was becoming, Brooke knew that these kids had already been involved in the fight long enough. But naturally, they wanted to rebel against her order. But the brunette was not shy to harsh replies, after all Erica had a thick head herself, so she gave the Oggai the job of alerting the closest operating hospital to send out some medics. 

“But I want to fight with everyone else!” Hajime snorted, “why am I the errand boy?”

“Uh, because this fight is for the adults only…you kids have no business being here anymore. Just go get some medics and stay safe. That’s your job- oh shit I’m starting to sound like my mother...” _Then again I didn’t listen to her either._ But even though they didn’t seem as pleased with their new assignment, it at least would keep them out of harms way even for a little while.  
That would keep Brooke assured.

“Hey, Brooke?” 

“What?” The brunette glanced over her shoulder to see that Hige was standing next to her, a smile starting to form on his own lips. What was that for?

“You handled that…pretty well. It was cool to see you act that way.”

“What way?”

“Being nice. You know, you’re not as tough as you think, you’re actually a good person deep down, huh?” Of all the moments for her to slip out her soft side…it had to be in front of Higemaru. Now she’d never hear the end of it! But still, he also said something that she didn’t even think that he knew about, “You…You saved me back then, didn’t you? When I was against the Priest.”

“Saved you…I didn’t save you, you saved yourself, well kind of. You lost your arms…” Arms that re-attached anyways, “I tried but-“

“I know what you did, stop denying it. You told me to run and I remember you calling out to me, demanding that I stay alive. You called me Touma too.”

_Damn…he heard that too?_

Brooke didn’t actually think that he would remember any of that…  
Turning her head to the side, she could feel an emotion start to tickle at her face as it started to even fog her glasses a little. No. No no no, I don’t love him, he’s just my...

“I don’t remember that at all, Touma.” She said his name on purpose, but what she didn’t expect was for it to cause her cheeks to blush. Shit.

“What? Say that again?” he teased, catching a glimpse of her red face, “I didn’t know you could pull that off either Brooke!”

“What **NO!** You heard me the first time, Touma- fuck!”

“Easy on your language, there’s still kids around here!” another voice shouted, one that Brooke only heard a couple of times in her life. But when she squinted through the darkness, a figure wearing a bag over his head and two men who once worked for the CCG came their way. 

“Huh…Matsuri Washhu? And Marude? I thought you were dead!”

“You can say whatever you want…but if I remember correctly you’re both part of the Quinx, right?” 

“Yeah, what about it?”

Marude brushed his gaze roughly over the large arrays of children that still surrounded them, each starting to slowly take off their masks and lower their heads as they all tried to scamper ahead to catch up with the others. Matsuri just kept his gaze to the ground.  
Though Brooke could only stare with curiosity at the man in the mask who was holding a large notebook. 

“Hey, you guys seemed to get business done fast!” Mayuzumi called with Erica, Hakatori and the final group of Oggai in tow…and was that Takizawa?

Apparently Seido was able to talk the kids into changing sides by sharing the horror stories about his time as being a lab rat to Kanou. 

_Way to go, you scared them into following us; that makes us no better then Furuta._  
But now that they were all there, Marude decided to introduce the mystery man that was with them,

“He calls himself Hide. It’s seems like this young man here has a suggestion for getting the truth out about the CCG nation wide…”

Then, Hide took out his book and wrote some scribbles on it to which, by pure chance, Brooke could make out,  
“ _’Do you think we can get to the PA system inside?’_ Well if our friends have actually made a dent this far…it’ll totally be possible. Right, Touma?”

\--

For Ui’s group, they managed to help many of the employee’s escape the building without any harm. Most of them were office workers who had no business on the battlefield so it was best to get them to safety first. 

“We’ll take them from here,” Akira informed as she and Amon guided the small group of people out of the back entrance, “We’re going to get them out of the area for now and catch up with you guys later. Please call us if you need us before then.”

“We should be fine,” Ui assured, nodding towards Hirako, “just make sure they get out safely…if we find anymore stranglers we’ll send them your way.”  
Unfortunately, there were far too many headstrong investigators that wouldn’t listen to reason with them. At first, Ui was convinced it was because they were still bitter about Hirako abandoning the CCG to be with ghouls…but more so it was probably because Tsukiyama was with them.  
He hated the fact that he had to work along side the man who was the heir to the Tsukiyama estate, the operation that almost killed his sister. But for Koharu’s sake, he would have to let bygones be bygones and work with him until this fight was over. All the more motivation to wrap things up swiftly.

“I say that we catch up with Miss Koharu and Kaneki, they’re probably going to need our assistance.”

“I was just going to say that…” Ui had to bite his tongue to keep himself from saying anything else. But at least he could keep content at the thought that Hairu and Masanori were safe…and he’d work with every member of the Tsukiyama family if it meant it could stay that way.

\--

Mizurou could feel the heat of hell as he and the others managed to make it to the door of the lab. Mizuki was probably inside and yet he felt that if he opened it, something was going to swallow him. 

_Eat me you fucking bastard…just let my daughter go._

Behind him, everyone got ready to fight, Quinques and Kagune’s alike as Mizurou fought to open the locked door…so using ‘Beef’, he sliced off the weak handle instead and kicked open the door only to see exactly as Nakarai described and more. No one was sure if this was the lab or a boiler room, it had extremely high ceilings and a maze of contraptions. In the corner of his eye, Mizurou spotted a large glass container with a woman’s body inside, she was floating in some kind of liquid…what was this place? At first, no one moved from the entrance, they kept their eyes pealed and ears open. 

“There’s…someone else in here,” Marie whispered, her head starting to turn towards the left side of the room, “I can hear footsteps…” 

But as soon as she said that, something came rumbling behind them, the thuds growing in sound as it neared and - happening so quick- everyone in the entrance was tossed into the walls of the lab as a Kakuja came smashing through! No one was injured thanks to Marie’s 9-tails covering them all like a shield. But the Kakuja figure laughed as she peered down at them like maggots she was ready to squish. 

“Look’s like _he_ was right after all, wow what a feast! I smell a verity pack!” It wasn’t the owl…but rather one that Mizurou couldn’t identify at all. It’s main body wore a clown mask…does that mean it’s-  
Then, a noise rang out much more heart crushing then any ghoul he’d ever faced, the sounds of a baby cry rang in the lab from the back of the room somewhere and, instantly, he knew that was his daughter!

“Mizuki!” He cried out, quickly getting his feet with Michiko beside him, but his escape wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped. The Kakuja ghoul attempted to block their path if not for Nakarai and Marie chopping away at it’s large hand causing it to scream.

“Go get the baby,” The blonde man yelled, pushing back against the ghoul, “We’ll take care of this thing!” Then, Zero squad jumped in as well as for the sisters, attempting to make a scratch on the beast as well…for now he’d just have to put his faith in them.

 

Marie couldn’t help but feel like she’d seen this ghoul somewhere before and yet there was no way in hell that she would’ve forgotten one like this! It mocked both her and Nakarai as they fought head on while the younger investigators held back. But even though her Rinkaku had 9-tails…she felt as if she could use another 30. 

“You know, you smell familiar,” The ghoul chirped once Marie was close to it’s head, though was nearly tripped up under her feet, _Not now klutziness_! “If I could smell a cake and like it…I think that’s what you smell like. You’re a dessert, it’s a good thing I always have it before dinner!”

“I have no idea what you’re…talking about!” Marie heaved, just hardly getting past it’s shark-like mouth with row upon rows of teeth, “If you know me, how do I know you?”

“Let me ponder by taste.”  
And this time, Marie wasn’t as quick to get out of range and the ghoul bit one of her legs off completely! 

“MARIE!” Yusa cried, trying to rush over to her aid only being blocked by Nakarai who nearly froze as he tried to reach for her himself,

“KITAMI!”

She’d hurt herself many times in the past, pain didn’t seem to be a physical sensation, only internal...so even she was surprised to actually feel the pain shoot through her body as she let out a bloody cry. Nakarai crept next to her and carefully held onto her in case the ghoul planned to attack again, but instead, the ghoul seemed to muse over her remembrance,

“Oh that’s right…I remember you. You were that little girl...who had the dog and father that I killed. There wasn’t much to that man, no flavor, but it filled the hole I suppose. That town…it was like playing mini golf. Though…I can’t even remember how I got there.” 

_Daddy…_

Marie remembered that day, that was when she was taken in by the CCG and felt the sense of true loss for the first time. That ghoul…she saw the ghoul’s face back then and when she looked at it behind the mask…she could still picture that undeniable smirk. _Daddy died…so he could protect me._

Anger, that was not anything foreign to her but she felt it engulf her like this. 

Shouhei killed her mother, she would always be sad about that, but he didn’t do it for sport. This ghoul, she killed her father for game. With her leg missing, she couldn’t stand up and the blood loss made her feel week. Not even her Quinx powers were healing her fast enough…so she depended on her kagune to help her sit up and maneuver more like a dog. She could feel Nakarai try and pull her back, but she knew what she had to do,

“Stop Marie, you’re going to killed!” Yusa screamed out for her again, this time with urgency and the blonde could feel tears well up in her eyes. _I have to do this…There’s no other way_. If she couldn’t fight it out here…she’d fight in there. So, once she was close enough to the ghoul again, on her one knee, Marie Kitami looked up at Roma Hoito with a simple smile before being engulfed and loosing her other leg. The last thing she remembered was Yusa’s desperate pleas.

Don’t worry, Yusa, I’m going to get out of here. 

 

The young Arima almost threw himself at the ghoul, even taking Shio’s quinque to use with his own to try and cut into it! But he left nothing more then a few incisions that healed as fast as they were engraved.  
Nakarai couldn’t believe it any more then the child that Marie actually sacrificed herself for them…why Marie? She was dumb all right, but this kid was about to take the award for stupidity if he kept up his act! 

“Stop it Yusa, do you want Kitami - Marie to die in vain?!” But the teen wouldn’t stop, it was if he couldn’t hear anything at all, even his friends tried talking him out of it,  
“Yusa, let’s go while we have the chance.” Rikai offered her hand to him but he still didn’t seem to hear her. With no other choice, Nakarai forcefully pulled Yusa away from the digesting Kakuja, as the other kids took the quinques away from his grasp so he wouldn’t try to kill Nakarai. 

“It’s not fair…” He chocked as the group backed away, “I never…I never even had the chance to tell her…-“  
The boy’s words were soon tuned out as the Kakuja started to fumble around like a sick animal, almost like…it was gagging; it choked up blood.  
Then, something shot through its mouth, and through it’s back, it’s sides and the top of it’s body. All tails that looked like a fox…Marie?! Through the top of the Kakuja, Marie made it out and forced her Rinkaku to twist and curve around the Kakuja and the main body until it could no longer move. 

“I’ve learnt about a lot of things this past while and you know something, I don’t hate ghouls…because they’re just like humans. They want to live, they want to care for their families, they want to find purpose…What I hate is when someone steals from someone else without reason…you stole my father from me, not for food but because _you could_ …unfortunately, I will never forgive you for that.” Then, as she coiled her Kagune a little tighter, Marie Kitami waited until it’s eye’s rolled back and its body gave way. The lab fell still as Marie leapt off the Kakuja, almost forgetting that she lost her legs and was lucky that Nakarai managed to catch her in time. 

“Marie, you really are a second class…idiot.”

“Hey…”

“You had me worried- us worried there.”  
He kept his gaze away from her, but she couldn’t help but smile up at him, weakly, but still enough even to make him happy too. This girl…

She reminded him of Kiyoko…putting her life on the line like this for others and still strong enough to pull through, though not in one piece, she was still the strongest woman he ever met…at least until today. Nakarai wasn’t there to save Kiyoko that day, nor did he save Marie from her loss even when he was there! But if he could save her still, he would. 

“We’re getting out of here,” he said, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around Marie who was starting to weaken, “And getting her to the hospital!”

“Um, you know we’re still in a battle right?! Can we just up and leave?” Shoko asked, but Nakarai ignored her and continued to press for the door, “And what about Tamaki and-“

“You should all go and assist them.”

He only glanced back at the small group for a moment, they all looked afraid…but he knew they weren’t afraid of finishing this battle…they were afraid of something else. As fro the Kakuja that Marie took down…the ghoul itself was gone.  
She let it live.  
Honestly, she was too kind for her own good…that’s why she needed to live.  
Hold on Marie…

“Wait!” Yusa gasped, running up next to the blonde man, “please…I’m coming too!”  
Yusa Arima…personally Nakarai didn’t know much about him, but he also wasn’t about to turn him away if he wanted to come. Fine

“Alright, just keep up.”

\--

Michiko and Mizurou followed the cries through the lab, it’s maze like turns of contraptions and tools made it hard to navigate otherwise. They both kept calling out her name, not to expect a response…but to reassure her that mommy and daddy were on their way; that they were going to get her out of this place.  
By the time they managed to get close to the sound of her cries, Mizuorou was almost certain that they’d made it around every inch of the room before spotting a young woman working at a computer desk and beside her was the source of the cries. **Mizuki.**  
Michiko didn’t even make a sound as she raced over to the clear-cradle only to be easily shoved to the floor by another man! 

“Michiko!” Mizurou immediately fell next to his wife who was quick to sit up again…though because she was so exhausted her body struggled with being able to stand again as well as her legs still being damaged from the wreckage earlier. The man who shoved her…was Furuta’s right hand man, Kanou. Right now, Mizurou had two options, attack Kanou or grab Mizuki. Both would have their own consequences. But to think things out thoughtfully would take time and clearly he didn’t have it right now. Quickly, Mizurou bolted towards the incubator and was about to grab Mizuki if not for the sound of a click coming from behind him. 

“Leave the child.” Turning around slowly, a gun was against Michiko’s head as Kanou sat next to her smiling, “Or do you want to loose your wife?” for a moment, Mizurou nearly lost his own ability to stand, “If you walk out of this room right now, I’ll let her go with you, if you don’t-“

“What are you doing?” the woman, who was sitting at the desk looked just as horrified as he did, “You said that…if they came here they-“

“They would have to die…it’s kill or be killed Ms Nishino.”

“But this- This wasn’t called for! Let her go!” 

And again, Kanou clicked the trigger against her head, Michiko was crying and Mizurou was ready to kill him himself! But if this girl…who was she supposed to be? 

“You have to the count of 3. 1…”

Mizurou held out his quinque, but only by doing that did the doctor hold the gun that much closer to her head,

“2…”

Please god no. 

“Leave me Mizurou, take Mizuki!” 

No, I want you both to live. Let me die instead.

“3.”

A shot rang out, Mizuki’s cries turned into screams, and blood poured out of Kanou’s hands.  
Juuzou had managed to cut Kanou’s hand that was holding the gun with not even a moment to spare. Suzuya-san…  
Then, Mizurou’s legs moved without warning and pulled Michiko close to him as she screamed into his chest,

“Mizurou! I was-“

“I’m sorry.” That’s all he could say as he held his wife.

“Michiko, are you okay?” Juuzou asked, quickly glancing over at the pair, “I’m sorry we’re late, we just got here!”

We? Oh, Hanbee came too. And the Souzu’s…and Shio too.  
_You believed me, Suzuya-san…Thank you._  
But still, none of them even had a moment to breath easy as the trail of Kanou’s blood had lead to the large open window in the room…in his good arm, he held Mizuki. 

“Kanou…step back from the window.” Kimi tried to say in the calmest voice she could bring up, “Please…if you’re going to do anything, let the child live.”  
But instead, Kanou gazed at Michiko and Mizurou, 

“How do you see the CCG now? For the memories you made or for the truth of what it-” 

“You can go to hell!” This time, Mizurou couldn’t hold back as he lunged at the doctor and as he tried to grab Mizuki, Kanou walked back and out of the window, taking the other two with him!

“MIZUROU!”

But luckily for him, Mizurou still had ‘Beef’ with him and in less then a second impaled his quinque into the side of the building, praying that it would lock and support him and the baby. When it stuck, Mizurou was left hanging on with one arm looking down at the streets far below him; trying to find Kanou’s body that didn’t have the chance to latch onto anything…oddly enough he didn’t see it anywhere. 

_Thank you Beef…you old steed._

“Shh, It’s okay, it’s okay, daddy’s got you. We’re going to be okay now…” Mizurou held Mizuki close to his chest, but the reassurance was directed at the both of them as they waited for assistance. Juuzou and Hanbee leaned out the window, first retrieving Mizuki, to which Michiko took in instantly, then heaving up Mizurou who looked like he was ready to pass out himself. 

Michiko’s alive,

Mizuki’s alive,

I’m alive. 

His wife took a seat on a stool as far away from the window as she could get, then quickly opened her shirt to take out one of her breasts that Mizuki latched to instantly. Tears still pooled out of her eyes as she held on like she was going to loose her again. As for him, he wrapped his arms around her to allow her to cry. But even he couldn’t control as his cheeks suddenly became damp as he looked over at his two relieved squad mates - no - the other part of his family.

“Thank you…” _Thank you for trusting me._


	35. When Doves Cry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lengthy chapter! ;u;
> 
> Only one more to go next week (I can hardly believe it!) so I hope you enjoy this week's chapter! Thank you! <33

“My, Roma, you look like you took quite a beating.” Nico sighed, taking off her mask as her fellow clown member made it under the bridge with a slight limp; Kanou being over her shoulder, “and I see you brought a friend along.”

“Furuta lied saying they would be easy,” Roma retorted, carelessly tossing Kanou to the side, though he never lost his footing as he gripped onto his injury, “That blondie was no dodo…Attacking me from the inside…but then again it’s not like she left in one piece either. As for doc, I only saved him because he’s useful.” But that was no compliment. Furuta wanted to keep Kanou as he was the only one who knew how to care for the undeveloped fetus. 

“Do remind me watch that ‘usefulness’ is exactly?”

Roma smiled,

“Furuta said he wanted to create something even more deplorable than the Oggai or even Kaneki Ken! But why he’d make it from his own child baffles me.”

“He’s a mean one…even worse than Yamori.” 

“That’s a strong comparison Nico,” Itori chortled, though what concerned her was not what Furuta was planning to do with the child, but rather to where a missing member of their group was, “you didn’t happen to see Uta on your way back, did you?”

“Nah, he’s probably making his way back though…I doubt he’s going to want to get caught up in what’s about to go down with that head honcho.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean, Itori, they’re going to take _him_ down…but the funny thing is…I doubt Furuta will even put up much of a fight.” The short woman spun on her heels back at the doctor who’s pain was finally starting to show in his face, “Come on, we’ll all need to pitch in if we want to get the hoe and child out in time. Just show us how to do it so we can get outta here.”

\--

Carma’s group was the last to make it inside the building…although by the time they did, it was almost completely vacant, suspiciously so. 

“Are we in space? Or is it just…a lot of space?” Miyuki asked from the back, unused to seeing the halls so empty and quiet. But the others were no better than him as they walked at a quick pace, but keeping quiet was difficult for such a large group.   
Carma, whom was upfront, kept Hinami by her side, as she was the one who had the best hearing and detection. 

“You would think we would’ve run into someone by this point.” Masaya commented, only to be hushed by the other tall male ghoul next to him. 

“Ui must’ve gotten all the coworkers out already…but that doesn’t mean that this place is vacant.”

But as they pressed foreword, down one of the long hallways with the large windows that overlooked the city, Yomo’s hypothesis became reality as a shadowy figure stood oddly to the side. Though the figure looked…familiar to him. Everyone stopped to observe, to see whose side this individual was on. 

Enemy or ally?

“Excuse me…but who are you?” Carma asked, taking a step foreword and narrowing her magenta eyes to get a better look. A male, who was wearing a mask and had his dark hair parted slightly to the side also started to make his way over to the group. At first, Yomo could’ve sworn that that was Furuta…but as the man spoke to them, he knew instantly who it was behind that mask.

“Are names important at this point? I don’t think they are…But I don’t wish to harm you any more then you wish to harm me…I’m simply a messenger. If I were you, however, I’d avoid going this way. Unless you’d like to meet up with a group of foes I know you will not be able to get through in time to meet up with the rest of your friends.”

Then, as he quietly passed by, the man tapped Yomo on the shoulder, then made his way out of their sight.  
Usually he would beat around the bush, and yet he gave a pretty straight statement.  
It was odd to see Uta there, Yomo thought to himself, and yet he wasn’t surprised at all.

“What a nice alien.” Miyuki said.

“Well, you heard the alien,” Masaya said, adjusting his hat and turning around in the same direction, “We won’t reach Koharu’s group in time if we walk that way. Carma, do you know another way up?”

“Yes, follow me everyone, quickly!”

Yes, Uta was an odd alien indeed.

\--

Nakarai held a critically wounded Marie in his arms as he and Yusa Arima were making their way out of the CCG. That kakuja that she nearly defeated really took a tool on her body… _it took her legs literality from under her!_  
Her complexion was so pale from the loss of blood she almost seemed transparent… clearly her quinx abilities weren’t going to be able to save her alone.

“Just hold on a little longer Marie,” Nakarai whispered to her as Yusa pushed open the front door, where they came across many ambulances and medics on scene. _What?! Where those there earlier?_ Standing next to one of the medics was some of the oggai children…including Hajime, Mayuzumi, and Erica. 

Apparently they were the ones who brought them her under Brooke’s order.

Mizurou and Michiko were there with baby Mizuki too…and another woman whom Nakarai couldn’t identify…thank god they were all okay. They were all sitting in the back of a couple of the ambulances, probably resting and getting checked over, but they all seemed startled to see him holding Marie in the state she was in. No one would be able to over look this kind of injury. 

“Nakarai-san?!” Mizurou shouted, stepping out of the vehicle and rushing over to the other Suzuya-squad member with his wife and the oggai behind him, “Oh my god, is that Kitami?!”

“What happened?” Michiko asked covering her mouth, her eyes widened as she stared at her friend’s missing limbs. She even cradled Mizuki in a way so that she couldn’t see it.

Hajime, for once, had nothing to say and instead lowered his head and walked away. Nakarai gulped,

“She-“

“She saved us.” Yusa said as he rubbed his tears on his sleeve. He was a pretty brave kid…Keijin would admit that. But this was no time to be standing and staring, so he called out to one of the medical teams whom immediately came to their aid.

 

Nakarai and Yusa just managed to make to out of the CCG by pure luck. If they came in contact with any of Furuta’s minions…Marie really would’ve been doomed. The medics got her carefully inside one of the prepped vehicles. Out of guilt, Nakarai decided to go along with her, to make sure she was taken care of properly, but once again Yusa insisted on coming along as well. 

Of course, they couldn’t get too close to her on their way down to the hospital…but Nakarai had to ask,

“Why are you so persistent? You’d be better off staying behind with the Oggai. We’ll be a while at the hospital you know and-”

“Marie has always been nice to me, she’s always offered me a smile even when everything seemed impossible…I just want to be there for her and see her smile again, because I know she’d do it for anyone of us.”

The child cut him short - what a disrespectful brat - but at the same time he could respect Yusa’s wish. Nakarai could also sense Marie’s kindness, even from today’s reckless act of bravery. But her statement was even more powerful then her actions…the world certainly needed more of her sunshine.

_Please…Please pull through Marie._

\--

“Anyone else getting an upset stomach right now?” Saiko asked as the main group was finally nearing the bureau’s office, “I feel like I’m going to hurl…”

“He does have a heavy presence.” Hsiao nodded, giving the shorter woman a rub on the back, “you’re strong, you’ll get through this!”

Koharu and Kaneki were up front leading the group down the obnoxiously large hallway that eventually would lead them to the door’s entrance…where the bureau would be waiting. Koharu still had a hard time believing that they were almost there…because when they arrived she had no idea what they were going to do. She just had to trust in herself and her friends that they would all have enough strength and courage to summon once they did step at hell’s door. 

“Regardez, It’s KANEKI and he’s okay! That’s a relief!” What, was that Tsukiyama? Turning around, Ui, Hirako, Tsukiyama, Juuzou, Hanbee, Carma, Masaya and the others had all caught up to them! Thank goodness! But of course…there were a few faces that were missing from the crowd…

“Michiko and Mizurou are down with the medic teams and Mizuki is safe and sound,” Juuzou confirmed… _Who’s Mizuki?_ , “I’m guessing Keijin and Yusa took Marie down there too.” _Marie?!_ Well that’s two former investigators that she was counting on…but they wouldn’t have gone down without a fight so as their leader, Koharu was proud. 

Still, the final battle was just in front of them.

Furuta Nimura…

In her time as an investigator, Koharu never had the chance to personally get to know the guy outside of strange greetings here and there. Ui had told her about the truth of the Washuu’s, about Hairu, and how Furuta was now closer to a ghoul than he was to a human now a days.   
He was so good at manipulation…he even convinced her brother into believing that she was a traitor! But seeing as how things were at the time it couldn’t have been a hard lie to hold.

Numbers were certainly on their side now. By this point, they must’ve faced every obstacle that could’ve been in their path.  
Kakuja’s,  
Kidnappers,  
Ghouls and humans,  
Aliens,  
There couldn’t possibly be anything else in their way…  
At least, not until a knife nearly sliced Carma’s throat if not for her quick agility,

“Stop right there, GOAT.”

The individual who attacked the pinkette was none other then Mutsuki Tooru, now with white hair, a more vicious demure, and to top it off, a sidekick. Shinsanpei Aura.

“Tooru?” Urie called, seemingly shocked to see one of his long-time friends pop up out of the blue and attack, “What are you-“

Mutsuki didn’t seem to hear his friend’s calls and immediately tried to attack both Koharu and Kankei, though they were also quick to block and move before he had the chance to dice them. He was certainly stronger then the last time the younger Ui had seen him in the battlefield. 

“Mucchan stop!” Saiko hollered, trying to get in-between Kaneki and the attacker by using her Rinkaku to push him aside – a little more forceful then usual, though Mutsuki wasn’t as easily threatened. He coughed up a little bit of blood but was quick to wipe it from his chin as he stared bitterly at the group. His eye shot back and fourth as if he was looking for something.

“Where is she?!”

“Where’s who?” asked Urie, this time stepping next to Saiko and blocking him from reaching the rest of the group,

“The bitch!” His eye now fell upon the king again, but instead of with that admiration Koharu saw him once have, it was almost with hatred. “I’ve waited so long to be loved and just when I think I’ve found it, it turns out it was all al lie to begin with! HRAHHH!” Mutsuki started to attack the group again, though now he had both his knives and his kagune as his weapons. Shit!

“I want your King to pay for what you did to my aunt!” Aura added, starting to unleash his own kagune, but before he had the chance to strike, Both Masaya and Yomo knocked him over the head cold,

“Revenge does no one any benefits…” Carma said to the unconscious body before taking out her own Koukaku and aiding the rest of the Quinx in taking down Mutsuki. 

However, because Mutsuki was fighting from anger, he seemed to almost have a lack of control in his actions and his Rinkaku spread and nearly impaled Koharu if not for a body quickly moving her out of the way! Though with a force so strong, Koharu and the other individual were sent hurling into the bureau’s office with a **‘thud!’**

“What the heck was that about you-“ She was lucky she was only suffering from a bump on the head…but it was the person who bumped into her that she was startled to see, “Ryoichi?! What are you doing here?!” She seethed, “I thought you were with-“

“I couldn’t just sit out Koharu!” he said, tears pooling in his kakugan’s and what was left of his Ukaku burned behind him, “I’ve been the looser all my life, I’m always hiding from things that scare me…I’m just a coward. But if I’m going to die a coward… I want to say that I was able to at least save you.”

He knows he’s not a warrior…she knows he’s certainly no knight in shining armor. But he saved her back there…So it was pretty hard to be upset with him right now. To try and ease his tears, she tried to lean up and give him a kiss on the lips…that would’ve been the case if they were not interrupted by the sound of echoing claps coming down the office,

“How sweet, so Princess Ui has found her own little peasant boy. Well, sorry to cut things short but I really don’t want my office turning into a porno set so if you don’t mind…let’s keep things work-friendly.”

\--

Back in the hall, Mutsuki’s rampage was still being tampered with as Urie, Saiko, Hsiao and the others were trying their best to get him to calm down. Juuzou tried numerous times to swipe away the knives but couldn’t get close enough without nearly loosing his own head. Hanbee and Hirako could only try to swipe away parts of the Rinkaku.   
But as for Urie, he knew by this point that fighting back wouldn’t help, what Mutsuki needed was some reassurance, something to let him know that he wasn’t alone in the fight of loneliness.   
_If only you knew Tooru just how much I want to be with you, how much I want to apologize for my past actions…then maybe we could both fill the emptiness in our hearts._

Special Class Ui and Old Man Takeo were serving from the back, both quick and very agile in their attacks, but their skills shouldn’t be wasted here. Form what he saw, Koharu had already gone into the office. 

“Special Class Ui! Takeo!” Urie called from the front, turning his head only for a moment to see if he got their attention, “Go into the office! We’ll handle Tooru- Mutsuki! Koharu will need the extra sets hands!”

They both looked hesitant at first, but understood the suggestion and quickly averted the scene to head to the younger Ui’s aid. 

Hirako and the two kids had managed to pin down one of his Rinkaku extensions, Tsukiyama, Carma, and the Souzu’s held another, then of course both Masaya and Yomo were able to hold one each. Mutsuki tried to fight against them all by slicing them with the tips, but they all stayed strong and didn’t let go…this gave Urie and opening.   
Quickly, Urie and the rest of the Qs approached their teammate cautiously, keeping their gazes locked on his.

“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?! Can’t you see who the enemy is? He’s standing among you with his bitch!”

“I think you’re your own worst enemy, Tooru.” Urie said, walking just a little faster so that he was within a dangerous radius of the other man, “but at least try to believe me when I say you’re not the first person to feel the way you do…I once was desperate to fill a void…when my father died all I wanted to do was try and gain enough power so that I could avenge him…you’re different though, you want power so you can forcefully gain the respect and attention of someone else…right?”

“Don’t speak like you know me-“ Mutsuki spat, though soon discovering that Juuzou had managed to take his hand-held weaponry! “Fuck!” Now, no one could hold him back forever and there was a chance that he could break free at any moment…but this was Urie’s moment to take hold of…and tell him what he should’ve heard a long time ago.

“You know what, Tooru…you’re right I don’t know you. I don’t know what has been going through your mind all these years or how much it’s hurt you to be let down by people who are supposed to be the ones that love you unconditionally. Even I was one of those people…I’m sorry for not always being there for you when you needed someone to listen…I was too caught up in my vengeance, too blind to see anything really. But I’d like it if you’d give me a chance to show you what love is…Even if I don’t know exactly…I think we could both learn a thing or two from each other.” he had to stop for a moment to catch his breath, but also to take a moment and look into Mutsuki’s face to see if he’d been listening to anything that had just been said. His face was blank…curious and still. Both Saiko and Hsiao who stood behind him also seemed eager for him to finish, both with wide eyes and sympathetic eyes that started to glaze.

“I should’ve said something sooner, I’m an idiot for holding back because it hurts me to see you this way…I know that deep inside this is not the real you.”

“Fight it Mutsuki,” Carma said, slowly coming up from behind the other Qs. The once shy and passive girl, who’d become something of a beast over the last few months, was now confidently standing next to those she finally called her friends without any sign of fear. “It’s hard…trying to understand that moment of loss. After my mother’s died I felt like I wouldn’t be able to go on with my life or that it had no purpose. I had no guidance. But then Masaya came in like a fallen angel and saved me…in more ways then one. But I also let my own selfishness get in the way of seeing that love was all around me, even when Masaya wasn’t there, my friends and teammates all reached out to me…I didn’t take their hands right away and that will always be my biggest regret because I ended up hurting them in return. Don’t make that same mistake…Tooru can’t you see…you’re not alone in this. Urie is extending a hand – take it!”

The pinkette, known as Carma Kimura whom one of those beta quinx’s that Urie never got the chance to know, and yet what she said must’ve hit Mutsuki in some way because even just for a split second…he looked vulnerable. So, in one swoop, Urie quickly threw his arms around the other man and held him tightly against his body. At first, Mutsuki tried to push himself away, but Urie was not going to let him go, he was not going to give up on him.   
Because at the end of the day…all they really had was each other…not promotions, not rates, and not ranks.   
Eventually, he could feel something damp against his chest and knew immediately that those were Tooru’s tears seeping through and the embrace was eventually returned as they fell to the floor. Everyone decided to finally let go of his Kagaune as it too started to seep back into his body… **the white flag was lifted**. 

“I’m sorry…Kuki.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing…I love you Tooru, I want to be by your side so…don’t fight from anger anymore. You’re not alone…you’re loved…by me, by Saiko, by Hsiao…Everyone.”

_Please, you can depend on me, if you need to fight the shadows, I’ll fight them with you._

 

While the two calmed down and held each other to catch their breath, Carma also could feel a sense of pride rise in her heart seeing that problem being resolved in a less violent manor. But she didn’t lie to Mutsuki, love is all around…you’ve just got to keep your doors open.   
Then, behind her, she could feel a tall figure wrap their arm surround her and hold her in their muscular arms. _Her safe haven_. 

“You’re even more beautiful when you’re acing on behalf of others, you know that?” Masaya sighed, “I appreciate powerful woman.”

“Who, me?!” 

“Who else?” Then kissing the top of her head, Hirako coughed from next to them and pointed down the hallway to the office door that was still sitting wide open.

“Think you can save the sweet talking for later? There are kids here and work we still need to finish.”

 

Right. Furuta was behind that door…and they had comrades already on the other side waiting for some back up. Urie and Mutsuki were now back on their feet as well, both ready to engage in the battle.

“We get past him…we’ll finally have our freedom, right?”

“Yeah, “ Urie nodded, though now wearing a confident smile and holding onto Mutsuki’s hand. 

“Well then, let’s get going!” Saiko cheered, running up front to lead them in this time, “Let the bells of freedom ring!”

\--

 

Koharu and Ryoichi were quick to get on their feet, both eyeing the man that was once seen as a respectable figure to society – no, he never was, he tainted the Bureau title.   
Both of them kept the kagune’s out and their kakugan’s ablaze as he stepped closer and closer to them, his footsteps echoing off the sides of the walls. But those weren’t the only steps resounding towards them as more started to come from behind the duo as well. Some help had arrived!

“Koori-bro- I mean…Koori?!”

“Dad?!” 

“Ryoichi…what are you doing here?! Aren’t you supposed to be with those two young ladies?”  
Both Ui and Takeo had come ahead of the group to lend them some quick assistance. So far it was 4 to 1, and yet Furuta didn’t seem the slightest bit afraid and even chuckled as he glanced at the group. But they couldn’t afford to wait on him; they had to go to him if they hoped to make a dent in the wall!  
Koharu was the first to make a move, her first plan was to hopefully be able to paralyze his body as it would be the easiest way out alive, but there was no easy approach as he was quick to unleash his Rinkaku from behind him nearly cutting through her flesh on the spot! He just skimmed past her nose. 

So the rumors were true about him becoming a one eye…

“My you are a quick one…though I’m not surprised, you were like that even as an investigator, right? After all, you’re the one who jumped in and nearly gave up your own life to save Hairu’s. Yes, I remember that day.”

That clearly agitated Ui as he also tried to attack Furuta head on, though without any success as _Taruhi_ only ended up clashing ageist the Rinkaku and forcing him to hold his ground. 

“I’ll admit that I was surprised you believed me for as long as you did, Special Class. But I’m afraid you are as useless as a diamond shreddie.” 

“What Koharu did was honorable, she put herself on the line to save her in my place!”

“And I don’t regret it!” she heckled, leaping next to her brother and slashing away the other Kagune to allow them a chance to both get out of his range. Takeo was the next one who stepped ahead of the Ui’s, allowing them to catch their breath for a moment. That red haired ghoul was definitely no weakling, but Takeo’s age was certainly starting to show compared to Furuta’s raw ability. Even Ryoichi looked concerned. From what he was able to manage, Ryo helped his father by targeting from a longer distance with his Ukaku. Though not many emerged and the force wasn’t even close to that of his parent, he didn’t give up. 

Taking a quick breath, Koharu heaved, 

“I’d give up my life for any of my friends – no – my family!” that’s what they were, weren’t they? All of them,

Hairu,  
Marie,  
Brooke,   
Carma,   
Michiko,   
Zero Squad,  
The rest of the quinx,  
And of course…all of the ghouls she’d become close to…

She never felt that she had a real family, besides her brother, so to Koharu…all the faces, those different personalities, the crazy and the prude alike…humans or ghouls. It didn’t matter. 

“Unlike you, Furuta, I care about others and what happens to them…”

“Hey, that’s mean Koharu, are you assuming that I don’t have any friends?” the bureau mocked, swinging his hips a little as he heaved Takeo into the wall of the room and causing part of it to collapse on him!

“DAD!” his son shouted, trying to rush over only to be blocked by Ui’s Quinque,

“You idiot, you run over there and he’ll kill you!”

“But-“ Ryoichi wanted to shove Ui out of the way and force his way over, but his father wasn’t kept down easily and managed to stand up again; blood seeped from his lips. 

“Just stand back, Ryoichi,” Takeo wheezed, grunting as he tried to walk back over to where the other three were standing, “For the sake of the young lady…don’t break her heart by getting yourself killed!” 

Ryoichi ignored his father’s order and remained next to both Ui and Koharu’s side, he said he wanted to protect them…even though right now he could make an escape he didn’t. _You’re no coward Ryoichi._

“But back to what I was saying,” Furuta chirped, adjusting his gloves on his hands, “I think that it was a waist to have nearly given your life for someone like Princess Hairu. After all, she’s a ticking bomb; all those half-humans are…even I! Scheduled to die far earlier then you, or the useless twig you’re standing next to.”   
A half human, yes, Ui told her the truth about Hairu and what little he heard about the garden. From even what he said…Koharu’s childhood was certainly now put on a pedestal. 

_Failed lab rats. Bred to become half ghouls only to become their counterpart.  
So that’s what you are to them, Furuta…a failed subject. _

_No…I don’t regret my reckless actions back then. Because I want Hairu to have the rest of the time she has left spent with Koori, with my nephew…to be happy._  
But instead of barking back those words at him again, Ryo was the one to take a step closer. Indeed, she could sense his unease in his breath, his jitters in his joints, and his fear in his eyes, and yet he tried his best to stand up straight and face the enemy head on.

“If…If one has to suffer with the knowledge of having a shorter life span, then shouldn’t they live what time they have to the fullest? You’re not held against anyone anymore…so why-“  
But he was cut short due to a hysteria case coming from the man standing across the office, soon buckled over and clutching his scull in his hands as his Kagune started to spread in and out of the walls in the room! 

“You make it sound so easy,” He screamed, trying to impale Ryoichi on the spot, “But guess what, it’s not! Once you’re born into the infinite loop you can’t get out without a sacrifice! A long time ago, I found I girl I loved…One that made me have a sense of hope…But even she went against me. That’s when I learnt that happiness is something that is only given to the fortunate and if I want a slice…I’ll have to take it from those who have it!”

“That is not true at all!” The red headed ghoul gasped, stopping to catch his breath, “I had a crappy time growing up…I had nothing except for the company of Aogiri! Even then it wasn’t company. I had to get out and find my own happiness…Touka, Karren, Mr. Yomo; they all gave me that shove in the right direction. And I didn’t have to take it from anyone else. I found happiness in the coffee that I brewed, in the customers that I talked to every day, and in Koharu…”

“Ryo…” he really was something else…he might not be physically strong but…he sure was in other ways…   
Still this was no time to be thinking outside of their fight, Furuta reminded them of that again and again as he continued to try and attack them from every angle possible, so it felt like anyways.   
Even Ryoichi was trying to pitch in best he could  
Soon, something – or rather someone - came flying past Koharu’s range of vision and managed to cut one of Furuta’s toothy Rinkaku’s clean off! It was Mutsuki…and Urie! 

“Mutsuki?!”

The green haired man gave a nod, assuring her without words that he had now joined their side of this battle. That means they got through to him…thankful was an understatement. Behind them, Carma, Masaya, and everyone else followed in tow, each ready to back them up!  
It was touching.  
But Koharu’s mistake was taking her eyes off of Furuta as the other part of his Kagune snatched her by the neck! He didn’t hold her tight enough to suffocate her at first, but she could slowly feel her ability to breath slip away. 

“Koharu!” Ryoichi shouted and quickly attempted to bite into the kagune only to be effortlessly tossed to the floor.  
Ui and Carma were the next one’s to attempt going in, quinques in hand and prepped, but Furuta simply smiled and put his hand to his mouth,

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…take another step and I’ll remove her head and smash ginger’s here so she won’t be alone in the after life.”

“You fucking bastard.” Ui seethed, gripping _Taruhi_ in both hands to try and restrain himself. But that was easier said then done. Furuta ordered everyone to toss their quinques to the ground and keep their kagune’s at bay.

“Easy Ui,” Hirako whispered, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder to try holding him back,.

Up in the Rinkaku’s grasp, Koharu fought for a breath as well as to be able to move her own kagune…if she could only get it free, she could easily attack him in one shot. She was in the perfect spot to do it! 

_Think Koharu, Think!_

“What’s wrong Koharu Ui…Cat got your tongue?” The bureau chuckled, his grin was so twisted it made her want to vomit, “You know, now that I’m looking at you from this angle…I think you’d make a nice head ornament on my wall.”

Now she had to bite her tongue to keep herself from spitting on his face, but she truly felt vulnerable at this point…he put all her friends on the spot…they couldn’t save her. 

_So…what would’ve happened if Cinderella had to save herself?_

But instead, a miracle was brought into the room. The thundering sound of footsteps from outside the door put the all on the line. At least before they discovered Hajime and the rest of the oggai invaded the bureau’s office! There must have been at least… 100 of them! Huh?!

Standing up front, the young leader of the small army took one look at the bureau and snarled like a hound,

“Alright, you all know what to do! Take him down!”

In an instant, it was if all the empty space in the room had been filled by kagune’s of the children as they quickly moved in and started to attack the man they once respected as a wise man…a savior. Now he was nothing.

Mayuzumi and Hajime cut Koharu free from his grasp and as soon as she hit the ground and caught her breath again, both Ui and Ryoichi were already at her side.

“Are you okay?! What are the oggai doing up here?!”

“You really think we were going to wait around for you guys to beat him up! NO!” Hajime stuck out his tongue, “I think a ‘Thanks Hajime, you’re the best’ is an order!”

“Thanks will have to wait!” Koharu uttered, reaching to the ground and taking _Taruhi_ into her grasp and immediately jumped in to fight with the oggai, “I’m borrowing this Koori-bro!”

“Koharu! You- Ugh…” 

 

If she could just get close enough to implant her own kagune into his body – preferably his legs – she would be able to get him down for a little while.

 

Unfortunately, these kids seemed to have other plans as they continued to press foreword on the bureau, some tearing at his Rinkaku, some attacking head on, but they were taking him apart, literally!

“Hey! Stop it! All of you!” She tried calling to them, but none of them seemed to hear her…just white noise. 

“Oi! Stop!” Kaneki also tried lending a voice as he stepped next to the young Ui, “Stop it, don’t kill him! That’s not the goal!” 

Hearing his voice, Mayuzumi was the next one to step away, and after him another one and another and another until eventually all the oggai stopped and left behind what was a very disassembled body of what was supposed to be Furuta. His Kagune had been ripped to shreds; his arms and legs were severely cut and impaled…yet he was still able to stand.  
The oggai had done quite a number on him that she was starting to doubt that she’d even need to use her kagune now…  
Still, Koharu extended her wings to block the children and her friends and pointed _Taruhi_ at his neck and Kaneki used his own kagune as a shield. 

Furuta simply raised his hands in the air; sadly his smile was still there,

“You look good with a quinque Miss Ui, how come you never had one before? Weren’t strong enough?”

“I think your better off not saying anything.”

“Haha, maybe.” His feet started to take him back and they both didn’t let him get out of reach either. If he kept this up, he was going to fall out the window!  
“Why don’t you just surrender?” Koharu asked, her hand beginning to tighten around the quinque as she could feel sweat threaten her grip, “This battle is over.”

“This battle? Over?” He asked curiously, one of his hands slipping behind him so he could open up one of the large windows, Koharu’s heart fell into her stomach- he wasn’t- “My dear Ui, ghouls and humans will always clash, that’s just nature’s design. The CCG is already finished…as for GOAT, it can try to put band aids over bullet holes but the reality is…” Then turning his body so that his back was towards them, he quickly turned his head back to take a final look at all the people who stood behind the king and Koharu, “The battle is never over, it’s only beginning.”

Then, Furuta spread his arms out wide and jumped from the tallest window in the CCG without a care, but when Kaneki and Koharu peaked over the side, they could not see his body anywhere! He wasn’t on the street and he wasn’t hanging off the building…

Just like Kanou.

For a moment…the room suddenly felt small. Maybe it was foolish to think that they could’ve saved him, but when Koharu pictured victory, she pictured that they’d be able to walk away with everyone. Even Furuta.

What a childish idea. 

But Kaneki was quick to order everyone out on a search party for Furuta,

“We’ll check every room of this building if we have to! He might still be here!”

“Roger!” Saluted the oggai and soon everyone was making a break for the door way…but Koharu couldn’t bring herself to leave the window just yet. At least, not until she felt someone grab her by the shoulder,

“Ryoichi…I tried.” She sighed, turning herself so that she could hug her lover, so she could hide her tears that were forming in her eyes. She finally felt that sense of loss for everyone who gave their lives away on this journey…this was the first moment she actually took time to think about things, to mourn, and to really reflect on the errors as well as what they managed to accomplish. 

This was the first time she looked at the over all picture. 

“You did good Koharu,” He whispered, kissing the top of her head, “don’t doubt that for a second. I’m sorry that I couldn’t do anything.”

“You saved me Ryo…” He might not have thought that his one little act of courage by pushing her out of the way was a big deal, but it was to her. He got out of his comfort zone and bravely put himself at risk for her…more then once. 

 

Ui could only watch from the side as his sister and Ryoichi held each other in the tight embrace. It made his heart ach…he still saw her as his little sister that needed his protection – no she never did…did she? She knew what she wanted and how to get it…  
As much as he disliked Ryoichi…he seemed to make Koharu happy. That’s all he ever wanted for her. If she was happy, then he should be too, right?

 

Once Koharu returned her brother’s quinque, she and Ryoichi decided to help in the search for Furuta, only to hear something come over the CCG’s PA system,

“Hey- Hey I think it’s on-!” Hige’s voice started to break through the system,

“It is?! Then move out of the way and let me speak!” Brooke screamed from the back only to be scolded by another familiar voice that Koharu could’nt identify, “No way Marude! The one who holds the mic speaks, AND I’M THE ONE HOLDING IT!” Marude?!

“Hey, Koharu take a look at this!” Ryoichi exclaimed, taking her hand and guiding her to a window that over looked another large building with a giant screen…with Brooke, Hige, Tomoe, Marude, Hide, Matsuri, and even Takizawa on it; the PA was being broadcasted all over the city! Through all radios and TV’s, even other emergency services were being given the line. 

“Ahem…This is Brooke Akita, a former second class investigator from the CCG and part of the quinx program! This goes out to all of our humans and ghouls out there so have your ears open! I know things seem a little fucked up right now, but that’s because they are! But I’m not here to discuses those issues, I’m sure you’re already aware…I want to inform you all of a breaking announcement from the leader of one of our oggai…The CCG has been abolished! Due to the event’s of the bureau…something has been brought to light about the truth of the CCG and what it has been doing to the blind eye of the public.” Brooke’s very ‘informal’ speech then went to inform all of Tokyo about the Washuu’s and their secrets, the garden, child solider and neglect. Everything they claimed to be…was false, even Matsuri put in his two cents to affirm that. 

Kankei eventually made it down to the PA system room as well, taking over the screen with Hide next to him. He told everyone about what Furuta had done back in the office that night and how he was involved in kidnapping and the oggai project, he also made note of GOAT and if it were to be accepted by the people, would take over the CCG’s position. Only, it would work in the befit of both ghouls and humans. 

“We are still far from a perfect world, but the reality is that we’ll never be able to reach it if we try to get rid of one another. Ghouls and Humans, neither is superior. If we can at least work to co-exist with each other…then maybe, something good can evolve from that. I’ve been able to see the world through both sides and I can easily say that there’s more to the story then what is often made out. That’s why I formed GOAT, to help bring awareness to both species that it is possible to work together, to befriend, and slowly make this world better for both. Maybe one day, Ghouls won’t have to depend on the one food source; maybe the term will be washed away as a thing of the past. But this will not be a reality unless everyone puts in their efforts…Ghouls and Humans will need to lend a hand. But change does not happen over night, we’ll need your help and cooperation…so, what do you say? Will you accept us to be that starting line?”

Next to Kankei, Hide started to doodle something on his notebook and once he turned it to face the camera…was the picture of hand holding up to fingers in the air to indicate a “ _ **Peace Sign.**_ ”

Koharu didn’t need to be down in the streets to know that people would certainly be giving mixed reactions to the news, but for those who were willing to side, hands would start to rise, and doves will fly to the heavens.


	36. Suburbia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter!  
> Thank you and enjoy! <333
> 
> (Masanori belongs to Hamliet!)

After thoroughly searching CCG headquarters for the entire night, the hunt for Furuta was deemed unsuccessful. The drained GOAT members searched high and low through the building for any signs of his where abouts, but not even a hair or fingerprint was available to give them any hints. The only thing that they could find was the broken tank in the laboratory where the still woman used to be. Beside it was an empty shelf, that’s where the container with the fetus inside used to be.

There was a strange liquid all over the floor, whoever broke in must’ve smashed the tank to free her, oddly they managed to do so without even leaving a clue behind. Though they could all make their assumptions on who was to blame. 

 

Once they confirmed the that the first ward was safe, Kaneki and some of the others split to head down and fetch not only Touka and Karren, but to also lead the evacuees back into the city.  
Meanwhile, it was Koharu’s job to stay and overlook those who were still standing and get the one’s who were injured down to the medics! 

When the younger Ui finally made her way down to the streets, her brother and her boyfriend at her sides, they ran into Mizurou, Michiko, the Oggai and even Nishiki. He was with the young woman who claimed that she was indeed working alongside Kanou and Furuta…and that she took place in holding Mizuki hostage.  
Kimi claimed that the female ghoul and the developing fetus were both experiments that Kanou and Furuta were collaborating with to try and genetically modify a half ghouls DNA even before birth. However, she was never let on as to what exactly was being manipulated or the purpose of doing so, _‘she was just another tool to them’_. 

“I know what I did was unforgivable…and I’m sorry…” Kimi bowed her head towards Michiko and Mizurou first, then towards the rest of them, “But I didn’t realize before it was too late…and in order to keep the child safe, I had to keep quiet about it, I couldn’t rebel.”

Koharu peaked over at her friend, and it was clear as crystal that Michiko was still bitter about the whole ordeal as she kept her nose to the sky and her brows furrowed. But she had every right to be. Mizurou, on the other hand, was grateful for her efforts and accepted the apology as Kimi had also helped Mizuki recover from her illness. With his support, everyone else eventually gave in and forgave her as well. 

“Thank you…But, I have one thing I’d like to request from you all,” Kimi Nishino bit her bottom lip, her eyes glazing over the group of both humans and ghouls…until finally she looked at Koharu, “I’d like to join GOAT, I want to help you – everyone! To contribute to the path of this revolution…that is, if you’ll let me.”

 

In times of a revolution, sometimes it’s difficult to know who are your allies and who are your foes. But since they’ve already seen a glimpse of true unity, they already know that to find allies, you have to give your trust first in order to receive it. So, assuming under the King of GOAT, Koharu cordially accepted Kimi into the cause.

 

In the moment of celebration, Mizuki started to wail again quickly catching the attention of her parents and those around her. Michiko tried to rock her a little bit to calm her down, but it didn’t seem to work. Out of curiosity one of the Oggai, Mayuzumi, stepped next to her to take a gander at the distressed child. He was the only Oggai left that still had his mask on his face…and it gave him an idea. Tentatively, the child pulled off his mask to revile his face to the infant to let her know that he wasn’t going to harm her. Then he pretended to die behind the mask again and playfully lifted it away; a game of peak-a-boo! Mayuzumi’s little experiment seemed to go over well with the Mizuki as her crying soon came to a hault and started to giggle at the funny faces he was making! Both Michiko and Mizuoru turned to look at each other in utter shock and almost relief that one of the oggai was able to stop her crying so quickly…almost like magic. 

 

But still, Koharu hadn’t had the chance to actually sit down with Michiko and check in on her after all this time, things have changed so much since they last spoke, and there was something she needed to get off of her chest and tell her. For once, Koharu Ui didn’t feel like she needed to push her pride aside to do so, because she knew that without a doubt she was in the wrong back then.

Taking a deep breath to collect her thoughts, she excused herself from the group and approached her old friend with a tired smile on her face. While bantering could wait, an apology couldn’t. 

“Hey Michiko…have a minute?”

The light brunette weakly looked her way and gave a nod. She probably wanted to talk too; after all, she was the only one who’d stayed behind at the CCG this whole time and had some stories to share.  
Gently, Michiko placed her baby into her husband’s arms and followed along side Koharu for a little walk around the CCG’s former head building. 

 

It wasn’t an easy talk that was for sure. Both of them broke down at one point during the discussion when they both explained their half’s of the story. It didn’t shock Koharu about the rumors that had been spread, Ui had told her the same things, but for the matters that she was never able to understand is what really hurt. 

“I really thought you all left me in the dust. After Marie and Brooke…I felt that I was on my own. Even though the Souzu’s were here, I didn’t have the same connection with them,” Michiko admitted, brushing some of her tangled golden locks behind her ear as tears seeped out of her eyes, “I’ve…Even before Mizurou…I always thought of you 4 girls as my family – my sisters. As crazy or as obnoxious as I think of you lot…I love you!” 

“I feel the same way Michiko.” Koharu concurred, putting an arm over her friend and pulling her into a hug. But not even after everything she’d already been through, Koharu Ui couldn’t escape the emotions that were flowing through her either, “Hey, Michiko…don’t tell the others but, out of our whole squad, I missed you the most.”

“I didn’t miss your sarcasm,” her friend chortled, tightening her embrace just a little tighter, “I get enough jokes at home now a days, Mizurou’s just as bad as you!”

“Haha, lucky you….But you know, what I said – before the _Rose operation_ – about you being selfish…I was wrong about that. Michiko, you’re one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met and you were just looking out for your child…I was the one who was narcissistic and power hungry…You have a beautiful family. To be honest, I don’t think I was worthy of being a leader back then.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything and just continued to stand there holding onto each other. Did she not take Koharu’s words seriously and was brushing them aside? Or perhaps was she contemplating a response that would continue to add to the downfalls of her past leadership? But instead, she received a reply that was much more surprising coming from Michiko,

“Koharu…we were all young and inept. It was never just you carrying that burden of immaturity; each and every one of us was lost – blind leading the blind. But…From the tools that were handed to us, I think we were also limited in what we were able to achieve. But we were also foolish for neglecting our priorities at times and choosing to go our own ways instead of listening to reason. You did your best – you wanted the best for us – you were the glue that held us all together…when you were gone…we all split. So if you were to say you were a bad leader, I’d say you were inexperienced. But if you called yourself selfish, I’d call it nonsense! Experience and being selfish are two very different things. If you want forgiveness, I’ll can give it to you in a heartbeat as well as give you mine. But I don’t regret my mistake for keeping Mizuki…without her, Mizuoru, and the rest of the S3 squad…I don’t know if I would’ve been able to make it this far.”

 _You would’ve Michiko; you’re a strong woman._ But of course for the sake of the moment, Koharu kept that opinion to herself as she was just glad that she was forgiven. She was right about how they were all just young and naive in their team work back then.  
Ever since they’ve been scavenging, they’ve learnt the importance of the bonds they make and making new ones along the way. But most importantly, they learnt how to see the bigger picture instead of the fragment. 

“Hey! You two! What are you doing?!” Then that voice from the big screens on the streets finally found her way around –with Carma and the Souzu’s next to her! Brooke was always made her presence well known so this was no different then any other time, “Michiko you’re a married woman! And you Koharu have a boyfriend!”

“You are bothersome Brooke,” Michiko huffed, drying her eyes on her shoulder, “friend’s are allowed to hug. Not that you would know.”

“ **OI!** ”

“Can…I join in the hug?” asked Carma, who raised her hand with a bright smile on her face.

“Come on over! You too Souzu’s, you’re one of us!”

“Wow, that is an honor then!” Shoko cheered, whipping off her hat and tossing it in the air. But now that her hat was off, they all could see the blonde hair growing out and leaving some light purple roots behind!

So she was a Souzu after all! 

She looked a little embarrassed once she realized they were all staring, her freckled cheeks went all rosy and she tried to hide it with her hands. 

“Cats out of the bag I guess…The thing about bleaching your hair is that you have to keep up with it…”

“You should keep growing your hair out,” Koharu nodded, “you’d look pretty with your natural hair colour.”  
Shoko snorted at the compliment, she probably wasn’t used to such things, but that only made her jump into the hug followed by her younger sister. 

Now with the giddy quartet holding onto each other, Brooke just shook her head in annoyance, 

“You guys are strange.”

“No, I’m pretty sure you’re the strange one. Just get over here already!” Koharu laughed, stretching out one of her arms, “You know you want to!”

She made a tempting offer, one that Brooke herself even had a pickle of a time trying to debunk. So, with a loud scream, the brunette charged into the group hug, nearly squeezing all of the air out of her former squad leader!

This was nice, having them all together…wait- no they weren’t all together! 

“Where’s Marie?!” Yoko asked, her eyes darting around for the klutzy blonde who was clearly not there, “OH! Right she’s-“

“She’s at the hospital with Yusa and Keijin,” Michiko said, letting out a heavy sigh, “With them both there with her…they’ll make sure she’s okay before we arrive.”

 

Indeed, she would be ok. If anyone was to be there with her, Marie was sure lucky it was Yusa. Though Koharu had her doubts that she even understood Yusa’s true feelings. 

 

Soon, the evacuee’s started to return back into the first ward; all lead by Kankei, Akira, and Amon! 

Many of the former CCG employees and investigators were happy to return and wanted to work under GOAT! Though for those who didn’t want to return, they decided to leave respectfully on their own terms. 

But for the Ui siblings, they were both keeping a look out for one pinkette among the crowd; someone that Koharu had been egger to see since learning about her brother’s engagement. 

However, when they did find her, that reunion was unlike anything any of them had ever been through. Some how, they all made it out of Furuta’s grasp alive and were all together again in one piece! Hairu was alive and well it seemed, holding onto a small bundle in her arms, which Koharu couldn’t help but eye with interest. 

“Thank god you’re okay Hairu!” Ui sighed, a smile starting to form on his lips as his future bride fell into his arms.

“Same with you! I’ve been so worried…After I heard about the CCG and GOAT-“

“Yes, things are going to be taking a turn…” The baby cooed in his mother’s grasp, reaching one of his hands towards Ui, to which he returned by taking his son in his own arms. But the moment Hairu laid eyes on Koharu, she defiantly looked like she saw a ghost! Her green eyes nearly popped out of her skull and her face became so pale it almost seemed transparent. 

“ **K-Koharu?!** Is that really you?” She uttered, trying to reach out and touch the other woman’s cheek, tears were starting to weald in her eyes, “How? I thought you were- I saw you-“

“It’s a long story Hairu,” a very long story, “But…I want to tell you all about it over coffee soon.” As much as Koharu wanted to come off as cool and reserved, the pinkette was quick to hold her tight in an embrace, crying on her shoulder and therefore forcing her to do the same, 

“I’ve missed you so much Koharu…you’re my best friend – more like my sister! It’s been so hard without you, especially thinking that my recklessness almost-“

“We all make mistakes…I’ve made more then I can count, but like I said before, saving you was never one of them.”

Koharu also explained that she knew about Hairu’s past and where she came from, what she was, what was her intended future…and how she became so much more! She also told her about her new transformation into becoming a full ghoul at the hands of Kanou. But if she didn’t become what she was, she never would’ve learnt the truth of the CCG or see life through the eyes of their former enemies. Just because they weren’t human, ghouls weren’t inhumane. 

 

“Well, Koharu, I know that you’ve been dying to meet someone else,” her brother sighed, lightly walking over to her with his pride and joy. The baby had Ui’s dark eyes that looked at her with curiosity, and Hairu’s pink hair that blew in the morning air. He was such a chubby little thing, and her heart began to melt, “This is Masanori Ui, your nephew. Would you like to hold him?”

“Would I? Of course! Bring him here!” it was hard to think that it was almost two years ago that she was teasing him to make her an auntie. Now here she was, holding her nephew after one of the most revolutionary fights in ghoul history. Looking down at the infant, Koharu almost felt lost for words, “Hi Masanori, you little melon bun, I’m your Auntie Koharu…I’m sorry we’re meeting so late…But I promise that I’ll always be there for you whenever you need me. I want to work hard with your daddy and your mommy…and all your other aunts and uncles to make the world a better place for you to grow up in. A place where ghouls and humans alike can learn, play, and work together all the same…”  
It was the next generation, like Masanori, that would truly be growing up in the after effects of GOAT and it’s revolution. But that was all the more reason to work hard and contribute to making the world safe for everyone.  
One step at a time. 

 

But as for Ayato, he was the last to make it back to the first ward followed by parades of ghoul children, which was befuddled by the new revolution that took place without him!

“What the hell did I miss?!” 

\--

 

Marie had been in surgery for numerious hours after being admitted into the hospital. Every time Yusa tried to ask a nurse for an update, they all would say she was doing fine – what does fine mean?! Eventually, Nakarai and him were the only ones in that waiting room…praying for when she would come out with that smile and optimism of hers.  
In the ticking of the clock in the room and the white noise of the hustling employees, not to mention the exhaustion from their battle, Yusa and Nakarai both found themselves asleep in the room. But in the young Arima’s mind, dreams didn’t come easy. But instead of a usual blank slate, he saw the pretty blonde standing far away from him with her back turned and standing amongst an endless sea of flowers…in the garden.  
__  
His mouth moved to try and call out for her, and yet no words escaped his lips. Did she not hear him? He then tried to walk foreword through the array of flowers, only to arrive and find her staring into the distance as if she was looking at something else. She looked a little lost, but content as she smiled towards the horizon. But there was nothing amongst that flower field to even be worth looking at.  
He tired calling to her again and again even to the point of screaming and still she made no attempts to acknowledge him.

 

Hours must’ve gone past by the time he felt someone shaking his shoulder to pull him from the soundless dream. 

“How are you able to sleep standing up?!” Shio demanded the moment he opened his eyes. He wasn’t standing up exactly; he was leaning against the wall. Blinking for a moment, Yusa took a glance behind his friend to see Rikai and Hirako were there too. He was holding a small bouquet of flowers…

“You really are an Arima,” Hirako said softly, “Be proud...But I don’t think Kitami will appreciate seeing you look so down.”

“I just…had a scary dream.”

“They’re nothing more then pictures in your head.” Rikai said, putting an arm on her friend’s shoulder to urge him foreword, “now come on, you want to visit her don’t you?”

“She’s-“

“She’s been in recovery for a while now,” Nakarai said, coming up from behind with another small bouquet in hand too. When did he leave?! “I was going to wake you…but you’re young and probably needed the rest.”

There was just something about that guy that he would never be able to like. Yusa would’ve easily given up his sleep if it meant he could’ve seen her again! 

“Hirako, I’m going to run down to the shop and get something to drink…I’ll come back up later.”

 

The child stormed out of the room in a tizzy that even Nakarai had to shake his head. This whole time he was telling him about how much he wanted to see her smile again and here he was leaving like a spoiled brat. Hirako and his other 2 friends looked just as confused as him. Oh well. 

Nakarai had to admit that he was eager to see how she was doing as well. After what she did to that ghoul, his opinion of her had changed…he never bothered to get to know her because of his poor assumptions. But she put those all to rest. 

The four of them approached her recovery room, one where they already heard voices coming from inside. Though Nakarai knew that voice well already. Reserved, mature, and cool…not Marie’s.  
Opening the door, there on the hospital bed laid Marie Kitami and next to her, a woman in a wheelchair with a blanket over the remainder of her legs, Kiyoko Aura.  
Marie had lost both of her legs from just below her knees, and it was clear to see that from the thin blanket that rested on top of her. Yet, here she was, chatting to Ms Kiyoko with a smile on her face as if IVs weren’t sticking out of her in all places. It was like she didn’t even notice…but she certainly noticed them when they walked in with ease.

“OH, Hi Nakarai! Hirako, and Shio and Rikai too!” She greeted, though her movement was limited as she attempted to wave, Kiyoko glanced his way as well with a weak grin, “Look, me and Ms Kiyoko are twinning!”

He would’ve scolded her for saying such a ridiculous outburst if not for her condition…and for his former superior sitting there too. But she didn’t seem bothered in the slightest and even excused herself from the room to allow Marie to visit with them for a while. 

“I’m surprised to see you here, Keijin.” 

“I…”

“Kitami told me about what you did…you made a good choice to stand down and retreat for her.”  
He didn’t know what to say, he only acted on the obviousness of the situation, but maybe the ditzy blonde saw it otherwise. 

“She’s just…” just a Quinx. Then, Kiyoko ushered him down so she could whisper in his ear,

“She’s a pretty little thing Keijin…maybe you should get to know her.”

“Huh?”

But his former mentor had nothing else to say and simply closed her eyes contently. He knew that meant that he would have to figure that out on his own.

Hirako offered to take Kiyoko back to her room, naturally followed by Shio and Rikai. But by doing so it left both blondes by themselves in the room; and Nakarai felt awkward being on his own with her. What should he say?

“I see you’ve had a few visitors today already…” He cleared his throat, trying to work with the first thing he could think of. The small room was already filled with lots of flowers, little boxes of chocolates, cards written from some of the Oggai and even a wine bottle…most likely that was from Michiko.

“Yeah! Everyone’s been in and out all day…I guess they’re all busy with getting GOAT organized.”

“Seems like it.” He replied, pulling up a seat and plopping down next to the bed. His eyes kept wondering down to her injury and he almost felt bad for staring. It was just…didn’t suit her. Nakarai hardly even knew Marie, and here he was sitting in her hospital room hoping to make a conversation. If he wasn’t the one who stayed behind and fought with her, he knew for sure that her well being wouldn’t have bothered him so greatly. There was just something about this girl that dragged him in by the collar.  
But his stress was soon shattered once Yusa came into the room with an unusual charge! The young Arima was surprisingly winded and in his hands was a small box, it looked like it could maybe fit a piece of cake. 

 

Yusa managed to rush all the way down the street to try and find a bakery to get Marie a little treat. Maybe he was just annoyed by Nakarai’s blunt statement earlier, but he wasn’t going to walk in empty handed. So while the man might have walked in with a couple of flowers, Yusa managed to make an effort to find her a slice of her favorite treat; one that he doubted Nakarai even knew about. 

“I’m sorry for coming so late I…” he didn’t want to tell her that he fell asleep in the waiting room for a few hours, that would be impolite…right? So instead, he cautiously walked over to her bedside to try and hand her the box…but her obvious wound even caught his eye oddly. But as soon as he realized that she knew what he was looking at, he immediately turned his head away with tinged cheeks. 

“It’s okay…” Marie assured, glancing down at her wounds with soft eyes. She winced when she tried to elevate herself a little bit, “I’m still in shock too…that’s why Ms Kiyoko came here to see me earlier. She heard about what happened and wanted to talk it over, maybe to warn me of what to expect as I recover…apparently I’m going to be bedridden for a while. Oh well, at least I can only be so clumsy in bed!”

Her klutziness was cute. She used to be the image of an imperfect investigator…. actually someone who shouldn’t be an investigator at all. Yusa wondered if this was how Ui felt about Hairu…seeing how silly and sweet she acted, then comparing that to where she worked. Did he want to save her as much as Yusa wanted to save Marie? Maybe. At least now…their ghoul investigator days were put behind them.

“Do you think I’ll be able to get prosthetics like Juuzou’s? Or maybe some really pretty ones?” she asked them both, though her smile didn’t look as genuine as it usually did.

“Anything that’s delicate and breakable…you should stay away from.” Nakarai said flatly; monotone even. 

“Yeah, you’re right! Maybe a durable pair that can put up with a few falls.” Her laugh was childish and high pitched, like she was forcing it out. That’s not what Yusa hoped to see from her when she woke up…he wanted her to be happy, maybe he was foolish to think that things would be the same for her after this. But he felt even more like the child now…because he couldn’t come up with any words to make her feel better. 

“Well…I’m going to get a coffee. Would you like anything?” Nakarai directed the question at Marie, but also opened it to Yusa as well; both of them politely declined. Once he was gone…and now it was just her and Yusa alone in the room…he was almost certain that this was the most frightening moment of his life.  
Forget the garden and all the ghouls.

“Come sit, Yusa,” Marie patted an empty secion beside her on the bed, “you’ve been on your feet enough lately.”

“I shouldn’t.”

“It’s okay, you won’t mess with anything.”

“But you’re in recovery…I’ll take Nakarai’s seat.”  
As much as her disappointed features hurt him, he also didn’t want to invade her personal space either; not to mention if a nurse walked in he would be scolded. But since this was Marie, she quickly bounced to the next topic that was on her mind,

“You know, Yusa…I wanted to thank you and Nakarai for saving me back there, after…you know.” 

“I didn’t-“ _Nakarai was the one that got you down, all I did was follow behind like a puppy_ , “I just…you were the one who saved us.”

But the blonde shook her head a little, twiddling her thumbs in her lap, 

“I only did what I had to do, anyone would’ve done the same. You and Nakarai were there for me; you didn’t leave my side even at my worst…that’s enough for me. Though I was foolish to let her go in the end…yes, she killed my father…but I just couldn’t do it. I’m sick of fighting…”

“Me too…” He muttered out, though he didn’t mean for her to hear it. But as a quinx, Marie wouldn’t let even a peep escape her ears. She didn’t look at him…instead she turned her gaze towards the window in the room, the orange glow of the light almost made her hair seem golden. When she spoke again, she sounded a little disheartened,

“I know I’m only a dreamer for wanting everyone to be able to get along…But If I can do something to make a change, even if it’s small, I’ll put my heart into it. To make sure everyone else is happy. That’s why I wear my mask and smile all the time…if I can give a little of my happiness away, maybe then eventually everyone else can find it in themselves to be happy too.”

Marie, again, turned towards him with that forced grin she wore that day. The one that was not her signature look, one that looked in vain. Yusa Arima was no fool and as much as he aspired to her goal…she, for once, was forgetting something vital. 

“But, Marie,” He urged, hesitating to reach out to her and only held his hand back as he faulted out her mistake, “What about your happiness? You may be good at making others happy, I know first hand, and your peace making has always been something everyone has been inspired by. You are…always that little bit of light in the darkness and when there isn’t a way out of something, you always find a way. But I’ve never seen you do anything for your own benefit. Eventually…won’t that make you tired? Isn’t there anything that makes you upset?”  
_How long can you wear your mask, Marie Kitami?_  
At first, she looked startled by his impute and took a moment to chew on his words like sour candy that eventually stated to shed it’s coat and turn sweet. Her caramel brown eyes started to avert down to her amputated legs and she stared at them bitterly.  
“He’s right you know, you can’t please everyone…” Nakarai commented from the doorway, Hirako and the other two kids behind him, “it’s just not possible.”

“Nakarai…?”

The rest of them shuffled into the room, and Hirako placed the small vase of flowers on her bedside table and looked at her a little sympathetically,

“You can put all your efforts into making others happy or proud, but in the end you’ll only tear yourself apart in the process…I’m not saying you should pick sides, I think we’ve all put the behind us, but Yusa’s right in that you should consider your own well being and your own happiness just as much. I wish I could’ve made that choice…instead I nearly lost everything. Don’t make the same mistake Kitami, be there for others…but it’s okay to be a little selfish too.”

It was rare to ever hear Hirako say so many things at once to anyone…and Yusa felt a flutter in his stomach knowing that those words were directed towards her.  
But if she was given this window of vulnerability to allow her honest feelings to flush out of her, she sure let her river of tears flow. 

“I’m scared! I always have been, my friends and everyone were always such good distractions…But- I hate my body now, I feel so useless not being able to do anything! I’m so scared…I want to dance again! Even just one more time…”

 

They all let her vent out to them, not even Nakarai had anything to say to her as he stood on the opposite side of the bed from Yusa, even handing her a handkerchief. It must’ve been hard for her to come to the realization of her new reality and finally be able to express her true feelings about it. If Yusa could go back in time, he easily would’ve taken her place. But even without her legs, she didn’t look any less pretty then she did before. She was still his shinning rainbow.

What was the world that Kishou Arima wanted? Was it peace or was it unity? Maybe Yusa would never know for sure…But the world Yusa Arima wanted was already here. She just needed to be the one to receive some happiness for once.

“I…got you this, I know the hospital food must not be that great so...” shuffling for the gift he bought, Yusa handed her the box and allowed a grin to form on his lips as her puffy red eyes looked at it in shock. Marie struggled to open the neatly packaged box, but when she saw the content inside she just about cried again. 

“American cheesecake? How did you-“

“I remember a few things.” 

That made her laugh, and for the first time all day she finally showed off that signature grin of hers that he loved so much.

“I would share…but I think I’m going to keep it to myself today! This totally beats the grub they give me here…Thank you Yusa.”

And he could here the snickers coming from Shio and Rikai form behind, and as much as that used to annoy him, he decided that he would let it slide. After all…he was content watching her indulge in her cake like there was no one else in the room.

_I wonder…Will you wait for me Marie? I just need some time…_

\--

 

As time passed on, things slowly started to change around GOAT, both the good and the evils played their roles in shaping their lives.

Many ghouls were still hesitant to come out of the shadows and often still rebelled against the newly set regulations. But there were also still many humans that had their distastes for ghouls and often turned them away from schools and work. However, those were still minor problems compared to the issue that Furuta was still missing; most likely waiting for a chance to gain more strength and attack when they least expected. He wasn’t alone on the board, Takeo went absent after the last battle in the CCG, no one knows where he went, but Ryo always prayed for his well being; where ever he was.

On the plus side, many of the Oggai had been adopted by either some of them members of GOAT or by some of the citizens of Tokyo. Finally they received the love and caring families they each deserved.

Brooke had become the legal caregiver to her younger sister Erica and even took in Hajime as well, playing as the big sister figure. Though he often complained about having to live with Brooke, still calling her names, he was actually glad to finally have something of a real family; to have stability and structure. 

Michiko and Mizurou took on the liberty of adopting Mayuzumi as they were touched by the way he acted with Mizuki. They both believed that they could handle taking care of another child; Michiko in particular ensured she would be able to turn him into a fine young gentleman.

\--

That summer, it was a very busy season for weddings in GOAT. Masaya and Carma even worked out a double wedding with Shuu and Karren, that was certainly a celebration no one would ever forget.  
Mutsuki and Urie also decided to tie the knot, surprisingly same with Juuzou and Hanbee!

But the wedding Koharu was most thrilled to be apart of was Ui and Hairu’s. Being the maid of honor, she took it upon herself to make sure everything was perfect for them on their big day, listening to Hairu’s requests without fail and overhearing some of Ui’s. Though she mainly left that job to the best man, Hirako. It was an interesting ceremony once their parent’s showed up, a bit disappointed in choosing to marry a half human. But they too were starting to slowly realize that ghouls weren’t what they were all made out to be, and that they had to respect their son’s wishes. 

\--

In the fall, Ryoichi finally saved up enough money to buy a ring and proposed to Koharu, asking for her hand in marriage! Though he had a little bit of support from both Touka and Karren.

\--

These events, of course, all lead to a very interesting Christmas that year, also following the birth of Princess Ichika Kaneki and Rosalind Tsukiyama. 

The Quinx Chateau was filled with all kind of laughter and celebrations! The one night where everyone was finally at ease and living in the moment, not worrying about anything outside of that space. 

The proud king and queen of GOAT were just as excited about the newborn princess as the rest of them were. Uncle Yomo couldn’t seem to stop crying and Ayato was no better! 

Mutsuki and Urie were content keeping to themselves in the living room, having snacks, and sometimes mingling with individuals now and again. But for them, this was everything they needed as they finally found happiness. Saiko, however, enjoyed hanging mistletoe over their heads and watching Urie get flustered.

Baby Mizuki was just a few days shy of turning 1, and the Suzuya Squad provided her with more presents then she could manage to open! Even when she did managed to get through a package, the toy was of no interest to her, she only cared about was the wrapping paper.  
“You guys could’ve saved some money and just bought a role of the paper and handed that to her.” Mizurou joked, watching as both Hanbee and Miyuki huddled in shame as the baby ignored all of the toys and – oddly – the telescope, just so she could rip some of the loose paper.  
Thank goodness she had her new big brother, Mayuzumi, to help her out!  
“Like this, Mizuki, look,” Mayuzumi tried demonstrating on how to properly rip the paper off of the presents, but she found it more amusing to watch him instead. So, in a playful way, Mayuzumi took one of the large sticky ribbons from the packaging and placed it on her head. “There. Now you’re the present” And she giggled as she reached up to touch it, this time yanking it off and sticking it on him!  
It made both Mizurou and Michiko happy to see that he was getting along well with her…it really convinced them that they made a good choice adding him to their family. 

Hirako, the zero Squad, and even the Suzuya squad all contributed some money into getting Marie and Kiyoko their own prosthetic legs! While Kiyoko took to them easily, Marie struggled to even stand with them at first! Luckily she had a helping hand from Yusa and Nakarai who were both patient enough to stay and help her. After all, Yusa wanted his dance partner back!

Carma and Masaya were busy with the karaoke machine they rented, as Carma sang the tunes, Masaya played the strings on his new guitar! No one was really fond of the country songs they were singing, but at least they kept the beat. 

Shoko and Yoko were busy helping Yoriko and Takomi out in the kitchen, preparing beverages and baking some goodies to share around, Seido and Hakatori had fun decorating the tree, and Chie Hori captured every moment of the night on her camera! Though somehow Shuu managed to make it into most of them…

As for Brooke and Higemaru…they were on a trail and error path.  
In the privacy of his bedroom, Brooke found herself attached at the lips of the pink haired man that she used to tease and beat ruthlessly with harsh words. It was hard to stay those things to them when her mouth was being devoured by his…Okay, so maybe he wasn’t that bad - after all - he was still hanging out with her after all this time.

“So…do you consider me more then an acquaintance now?” he asked, trying to look bold. But Brooke would never allow him to take the lead and kissed him again, pushing on his chest until he fell back onto his bed and she sat on him to be sure he wouldn’t try to dominate her! Though, her glasses fogged up from the heat from her face when she decided to grace him with an answer,

“Yeah, I guess we could be friends.”

“I’ll take what I can get from you.” He joked, lifting her glasses away and laughed as she struggled to try and reach them. 

“Oi! Give those back you lemonade man! I’m blind!”

“You’ll have to kiss me again, or feel the rath of your own medicine.”

“You suck Touma!” but she kissed him anyways, and in return, received her glasses back.

 

 

“Okay Koharu, can I have my son back now? You’ve been holding him for the entire evening!” Ui found his sister in the Chateau’s living room holding onto Masanori, playing and giggling with him. Next to her, Ryoichi was trying his best to interact with the baby as well, though far more passive than his girlfriend.  
Koharu wasn’t kidding when she said she was going to spoil her nephew, she brought Masanori more Christmas presents then Ui and Hairu knew what to do with…or where to put. She claimed that these were both his Christmas and birthday presents…but it still seemed a little over the top. Ui had to admit that he was glad that Koharu took so well to his son.  
But when Ui tried to take back his child, Koharu twisted her body so that he couldn’t reach him,

“No, you get to have him all day everyday. I want to spend some quality time with my favorite nephew!” She loved to annoy her brother, it was too easy, and Masanori seemed to be having fun with it too as he giggled and clinged to his aunt. It was times like these where he wished he didn’t give up smoking. Just in time of the peak his frustration, Ui’s wife made her way into the living room with a tray of coffees in hand for the four of them. 

“I think it’s nice that Koharu wants to be involved in his life so much.” The pinkette commented and handed her husband a cup, then handing one to Ryoichi who kindly thanked her, “After all, I never had that.”

“We didn’t either,” Koharu added, bouncing the infant in her lap, “so I’m going to make sure he’s always got me!”

“But you come to our apartment everyday! At this point you might as well have a kid of your own before you kidnap mine-“ But Ui had to cover his mouth realizing what he just said out loud in front of both Koahru and Ryo at the same time! 

 

The red haired ghoul nearly choked on his coffee. He was on a thin line already so bringing up the discussion of their sex life around Ui was probably a bad idea. 

“I uhh…”

But his partner, however, didn’t seem nearly as upset as he did, 

“Maybe I will…because Masanori sure is giving me some serious baby fever, what do you say Ryo?”  
Ui eyed Ryoichi viciously, a fierce warning to not even think about it. Maybe it was best to just stay low about the topic…at least until they were married.  
Most people worry about the father when it came to their girlfriends…Ryoichi had to worry about the brother. 

“I’m – going to get some air-“ he choked, bowing his head a little and making his way for the door.

“I’m going to kill him.” Ui muttered,

“Don’t you dare!” His wife shoved his shoulder, then leaned down to pick up her son, 

“Leave him alone already, you’ll scare him away!”

“I hope I did.”

“Stop it Koori-bro, he really is harmless,” His sister brushed past his body, teasingly shoving him a little with her hip so he could bump into Hairu, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to catch my fiancé.”

Ui watched as his imperious and reckless little sister walked out the door. After everything they’d been through, being able to hand her to someone she loved should’ve been easy…but he still wished that she could’ve stayed his little sister. The one that would look up to him as her idol or inspiration…now she was on her own path…and he wasn’t the star anymore.  
_But that changed a long time ago, didn’t it? What happened? Oh, we grew up…that’s what happened._

 

\--

In a way, Ryoichi was thankful that Ui gave him an outing to leave that house for a while; it was getting a little overwhelming. And he only added fuel to the fire.  
It was snowing that night; big fluffy flakes fell from the sky and coated the stop of his red hair like sugar. No one was on the streets leaving the sidewalk with a clean sheet that his footprints stamped and squeaked. That was at east until a figure was making his way through the blur of the falling snow, hands in his pockets and his posture a little less poised then it used to be. He wouldn’t have recognized the man if not for the matching red hair.

“Dad? Is that you?”

The man nodded, grunting a little and urging him to come walk next to him, and Ryoichi obeyed. 

“So, where have you been?” To please his father, Ryoichi decided to get the most obvious question out first as there probably was a good reason to his father approaching the chateau out of the blue. Shouhei Takeo wasn’t one to waist precious time after all.  
But his usually emotionless father started to grin and his face started to go pink, what was on his mind?

“If I tell you, you might laugh.”

“Maybe…But I won’t know unless you tell me,” Ryo had a suspicion that it might have something to do with meeting a lady. His dad had always been secretly flirtatious, “So, who is she?”

“She?” is father raised a brow, “What are you muttering on about? No, I’ve opened up a hair salon.”

“A hair salon?!” a hair salon. Why on earth would his father want to open up a hair salon for? “I didn’t know you could cut hair!”

“It’s been a little hobby of mine. Of course I never let it slip as I was afraid that people would look at me differently, that they wouldn’t take me seriously when I was in Aogiri. But I’m not getting any younger and life is short as it is…and with how to world is changing I guess it wouldn’t harm anyone if I decided that I want to make my living off being a barber and stylist. Actually, the only one who knew was your mother. She used to let me trim hers when it got too long…as for you, you never even let me get close.”

“I like my hair,” The red head said proudly, stroking some of his hair as it had grown out again. But actually, he thought it was really cool that his dad had found something that he liked to do. It mingled him with humans and allowed him to be himself! “You know, I think it’s really cool that you do that. I never would’ve guessed you were that down to earth.”

“Really?” Takeo seemed touched by the compliment…and even smiled, though a little more tired looking nowadays. But then he stopped in place, bring Ryo to a halt as well as he reached into his pocket for something.

“Dad?”

“Ryoichi…I know I failed as a father. I was always too caught up in the work and the money in the past. I tried to save up enough money in Aogiri in hopes of handing it down to you so you could have a better life. I failed that too.”

“It’s fine, I’ve moved on from that. Yeah there were issues in that past but…we’re fine now right? Can’t go back now.”

But Shouhei shook his head,

“No, son, you’re the only family I have left. You’re the only piece of Hoshii that’s still alive.” Maybe he had to catch his breath or got caught by the brisk air, but for a moment there Ryo thought the man was going to cry, “During these past few months in the shop, I’ve been working and putting aside money for you to try and make up for the amount I lost after Aogiri disbanded.” Finally, when Shouhei pulled his hand out from his pocket, he revealed a thick little envelope and handed it to his son who stood wide eyed, “I know it’s not much, but it should be enough for you to at least rent out an apartment for a while – for you and the young lady.”

So that’s what he was doing all this time, that was why he wanted to visit. But even by just peaking inside Ryoichi nearly threw up by the amount he saw.  
He never held so much yen in his life.  
As much as he would’ve liked to take the offer, something inside him told him it wouldn’t be the right thing. Ryo didn’t work for it.

“Dad this is too much!” He tried to shove it back in his father’s hand, but he wouldn’t take it back, “It’s just too much!”

“I decided what I wanted to do with that money for years. Take it Ryoichi!” the man then took the envelope and shoved it into his son’s pocket then turning his back so he couldn’t try and lay it on him again, “I’ve struggled all my life to stay afloat…I don’t want you do go down the same road. Consider this as my wedding gift to you, you’re getting married right?”

Did his father really just assume that he wasn’t going to be invited to the wedding? Even if Ryoichi despised him he would’ve still invited him…he was family after all. The snow was starting to become thicker and thicker to the point where Ryoichi could hardly see his own nose. And yet he wasn’t cold.  
As his father started to walk away into the building storm, Ryoichi tried his best to call out to him through, nearly screaming,

“YOU WERE ALWAYS INVTED YOU KNOW!” That managed to catch his attention as he glanced back even fro a moment, “I want you there! Koharu wants you there; everyone will want you to be there! But you’re right, you weren’t the perfect parent…We’ve all made our mistakes. But those mistakes don’t define who you are, it’s only who you want to be! You don’t always show it, but you’re a good man.”  
Shouhei chuckled a little, then turned himself again and continued to walk away,

“I’ll be there.”

Ryoichi stood there until he could no longer see him anymore, his hand hovering over the pocket where the money was. He really was a good man, he might not have been human but his actions were proof enough to show that he was humane.  
_Thanks, dad._

“Ryo, are you trying to catch frost bite?” He heard Koharu calling from hind and immediately spun around to find her running in his direction with a scarf in hand, “When you said you needed some air I thought you were just going to be standing outside the house, not down the street! You had me worried.” she handed him the scarf, notably a red one, and wrapped it around himself. Honestly she might not think he was telling the truth if he told her what had just happened between him and his father a moment ago. But he had to try.

“Koharu, you see-“ But instead, his fiancée decided to yank him by the scarf so that she could kiss him, one kiss that he would turn away from either as the wind started to pick up and swirl around them. Her lip-gloss…is that what strawberries tasted like?  
When they finally pulled away, Ryo took her hands into his and decided to explain to her everything that had happened on the way back to the party.  
He wasn’t a rich man, but he felt pretty darn wealthy. 

 

Because he finally felt that he was equal. 

 

\--

This place was the only garden to have flowers growing in the middle of winter, the only place to have butterflies all year long. But this place was no peaceful dwelling, but one of remorse.

A woman sat at a small table in the center of this garden, a cup of coffee set in front of her but she wouldn’t touch it. Her facial features were sweet but drained. Her purple hair fell over her face once a man approached her with his own cup in hand,

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it Rize dear?” Furuta took a seat across form her, taking alight sip of his beverage and looking at the woman with interest and curiosity. But she dared not to look at him, “Why so glum? You’re in paradise in the winter!”  
And yet she still said nothing.  
Furuta hummed,

“You’re quiet right, it’s still a bit empty – this isn’t paradise yet-“

“Souta!” Roma, followed by Itori, came rushing through the open garden with a large smile on her face, “Kanou says it’s time!”

“It’s time?” Furuta jolted from his seat so fast that he knocked the table over and splashed Rize with the coffee that tipped with it! And yet she didn’t seem anymore interested, “It’s time! Is it really?”

“That’s what I said!” the little ghoul chortled, urging for Furuta to follow, “come on!”  
But when Furuta looked back, he saw the other woman on the floor picking up the broken pieces of the cups.  
Once Rize managed to flip the table upright again and place the broken pieces to the side, she followed at a far distance behind a cheerful Furuta.

When they arrived, to the hidden room where Kanou had just finished taking the infant out of the sealed womb, Rize gazed at the newborn, her son, with a cold glare, as it’s first shrieks filled the room. However, Furuta took to it with great pride, skipping over and observing his child with great inters.

“So Kanou, what do you think?”

“It’s everything you wanted. He’s going to outshine even Ken Kaneki one day, with the amount of RC I put into him in early development…he should be ready in a few short years.”

“Enough to outshine Ken Kaneki huh?” Furuta chewed on the thought like bubble gum. “Well then, you deserve a name that shall fit the title. I think Ryuu should do nicely. What do you think Rize dear?”

“Even if I gave my opinion…would you listen?”

“So she speaks! But to answer your question, no!” picking up the newly born child that screamed in his arms, he showed him off to the rest of the Clowns that had now entered the small room, “Here’s your new prince, meet Prince Ryuu! Rest now, because training will be starting tomorrow.”

 

That night, in the Sunlit Garden, a dragon egg hatched without warning, leaving GOAT at the disadvantage to prepare for what Furuta had stowed away.  
The dragon would roar and take back it's lost terrain, leaving behind nothing but shadows and fragments of lost prayers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you have it, the final chapter of my 6-month fanfic!  
> I first off, want to thank all of my wonderful readers and the support that I received in the process! As much work and late nights that I spent working on this story, I have to admit that this was one of the most fun and exciting little projects that I've worked on. To try and stay on the accurate side of things, I had to look more closely into Ishida's original story and learnt more about his characters along the way as well, falling in love with new ones and appreciating old ones!  
> I'm aware the OC's aren't always a favourite for fanfic readers. But in order for me to really get myself in the groove of writing such a long piece, adding my own characters allowed me to stay in tune with my writing and make it fun! But it also really made me consider my character choices - play with the "what-if" factor! To create a character, I've realized it takes more then just a few doodles on the side of a notebook, it takes a bit of love and connection. For me, all of my OC's have a characteristic of my own life or a personality of someone I know, either it be a bit of myself, or a close friend.
> 
> Thanks again everyone! I hope you'll all look forward to the sequel that will be featuring the next generation!  
> (However, I will be taking a break to work on some art for a little while before I jump into it.)


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